Love For A Child
by Animegirl1129
Summary: Spinelli gets a call concerning his past and it leads to a significant alternation of his and Jason’s future. JaSpin. AU, Future!Fic.
1. Part 1: I November 23, 2011

LOVE FOR A CHILD

**_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is still not technically done. I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during an FBI ambush, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!  
_**

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**-PART 1: Chapter 1/3-**

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_**November 23, 2011**_

The distant sound of a ringing cell phone invades the blissful state of half-sleep that Jason and Spinelli are enjoying. The younger's head is resting comfortably against Jason's shoulder, arms comfortably curled around him in such a way that it's almost as if his life depends on getting as much contact as he can without actually fusing them together.

"Ignore it." Spinelli demands, in a sleep thick voice that is mostly lost against his lover's skin.

Jason listens intently, deciding that the obnoxious noise is coming from Spinelli's phone and not his own. "It's yours." He murmurs, but Spinelli either doesn't hear him or doesn't care. As Spinelli's hurriedly discarded jeans are within Jason's reach on his side of the bed, he manages to retrieve the cell phone before it stops ringing. Given that Spinelli does not look at all inclined to answer it, Jason does it for him. The caller ID is telling him that the number is unknown, but he presses the Accept Call button and holds the device to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Hello, I'm with Oakfield Memorial Hospital._ _Is this a, ugh, Damian Spinelli?_" A woman's voice comes through the line.

"One second." He tells the unnamed voice, and he nudges Spinelli. "Hey, Spin, come on. It's for you. Some hospital in Tennessee." It should be obvious that the call is for Spinelli since it was his phone, but given that the only thing obvious to the younger man right now is sleep, he figures he should point it out just in case.

The word 'hospital' gets Spinelli's attention, though, and he ends up even more sprawled across Jason is his attempts to take the phone. "Hello?"

"_Is _this_ Damian Spinelli?"_ Jason can hear the same woman ask, only with slightly more impatience in her tone this time.

"Ugh, Affirmative." He answers, his fingers absently tracing patterns on Jason's bare chest.

"_Would you be related to a Diana Spinelli, residing in Oakfield?"_ The woman asks, and Jason eyes his lover curiously. As much as Spinelli knows of Jason's life, the elder knows comparatively nothing of Spinelli's.

The finger's playing nonchalantly on his chest still, and Spinelli mutters out another acquiescent reply before asking, rather hesitantly, "Is she okay?"

"_Ms. Spinelli has left the hospital against medical advice, and we are trying to track down her next of kin, who she informed us in her history, is you. Would you be willing to come to the hospital?_" The still unidentified woman inquires.

Spinelli begins the rather complex task of untangling himself from his lover, as he presses the phone closer to his ear as if that will somehow make this conversation start making sense. "I… I don't understand. She left the hospital? Why was she admitted to the hospital?" He finally asks, as the realization pops into his mind. Jason's moving now as well, already off the bed and digging through their shared dresser.

"Heads up." He warns, before he tosses a pair of boxers and jeans to his lover. The clothes land harmlessly on the bed even as Jason rushes through getting dressed himself.

"_She was brought into the ER last night when she went into labor." _

Spinelli falters as he hops into his jeans and just barely catches himself on the bed. "What?" Granted that he and Diana haven't talked in… well, years, at this point, he'd like to think she would call him if something as big as this were to happen, but evidently, she doesn't share his opinions on the matter. "She… she… a baby?"

Jason's head snaps up, mostly because he has no idea who Diana Spinelli is, or how she's related to his Spinelli. "What's going on?" He mouths, but Spinelli looks rather like he's going to pass out, so Jason decides some intervention is required. Just as he reaches for the phone, though, Spinelli seems to return to reality. So he settles for offering Spinelli a t-shirt instead.

"Is she okay?" Spinelli asks again, which is at least a coherent sentence.

"_She was supposed to be discharged tomorrow afternoon, but that's not what we want you to come in for. We need someone to discharge her baby to, or else we'll have to contact Child Services. She signed a release that lists you as an acceptable person to discharge the baby to._"

Jason watches Spinelli as he drops the forgotten shirt. "She just left the baby there?" He asks, rather incredulous. "Why… I'll be there as soon as I can." He promises, and another long moment of exchanging information, the call is ended.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Jason asks, as he tugs the t-shirt over an otherwise unresponsive Spinelli's head. While he did hear the majority of the conversation, he is still rather lost as to its context.

"We… The Jackal is needed in his humble hometown of Oakfield."

An hour later they're on the road to Oakfield. It's a long drive, and flying would have been faster, but convincing an insanely frantic Spinelli that waiting for the plane was the best decision had been easier said than done. In the end, they'd each packed a bag and climbed into the black SUV, Jason in the driver's seat, intending to drive the first leg of the trip.

"Who's Diana?" He asks, when they're well on their way. Neither has said a word since they've left, and Jason figures he should at least use the fifteen hour drive to learn something new about his lover's mysterious past. Spinelli doesn't answer, so his hand settles on the younger's, which gives him cause to look up.

"Oh, ugh, my sister."

Jason takes his eyes off the more or less vacant roads to stare pointedly at the younger man.

Spinelli shifts awkwardly in his seat, and this is obviously a topic he does not like discussing. "I… Diana is the Jackal's younger sister. She's 19, and the last time I checked she was in college, with a rather impressive 3.9 GPA."

"That… is impressive." Jason echoes. "You don't have any other siblings I don't know about, do you?"

A shake of the head answers his question, and he finally refocuses on the road. But, now it seems he's opened the can of worms that is Spinelli's past family life and the younger man regales him with tales of himself and Diana growing up. How he always hid in the tree house in the neighbors backyard with her when their parents were fighting, and how much she cried when their dad finally had enough and left. How their mom always picked fights with them over the tiniest things. And then, despite the fact that he is five years her senior, she ended up only 3 years behind him in school. But, aside from excelling at her education, pretty much every other aspect of her life hadn't been so good. She'd been known to make bad decisions about her friends, and ended up in a lot of jams. Once with the police, and he's still not sure how she got out of that mess, unless her boyfriend at the time, a cop's son, pulled some strings with his dad. She wrecked her first car the day she got it, but her loving brother took the blame because he didn't want her to get in trouble, and that's why his mother had shipped him off to live with his Granny. And sadly, he hasn't spoken to her since.

Jason just listens, because it's utterly bewildering that Spinelli has managed to hide all this away, especially from him, for so long; and also because he likes hearing Spinelli talk. About anything really, especially Jackal speak, as opposed to when they first met and all he really wanted to do was slap the kid upside the head with a dictionary in hopes of getting some of the fancy words out of his vocabulary. Spinelli eventually talks himself to sleep – a talent Jason didn't think anyone could possess - and he ends up snoozing softly against his shoulder for a good while.

However, he does have to wake the younger man sooner than he would like, because falling asleep at the wheel is not typically a good thing, so he pulls over at the next gas station he sees, and reluctantly rouses his lover for the second time. "Hey, wake up." He prods, looking at the digital clock on the dashboard. They've made good time. Only 9 hours to go now. "You have to drive for a bit, okay?"

"Mm. Kay." Spinelli says in answer, but just burrows closer to Jason instead of making any move to switch sides.

Jason laughs. "Come on, we'll run inside here and get some coffee or orange soda or something." He promises, and unbuckles his seatbelt. Spinelli only finally moves when Jason opens the door and gets out himself.

Once his personal pillow has vacated the car, and the engine clicks off, he climbs out as well, stretching as they walk side by side into the convenience store included in the gas station. He sends Spinelli off in the direction of soda and barbeque chips while he grabs a large coffee and a couple of lunch wraps to get them through the better part of the rest of their impromptu trip. They meet up again at the register where Jason pays for the food and the gas he intends to buy, and then they return to the SUV. Spinelli sits in the driver's seat, the door open as he watches Jason. "Why would she just leave the baby there, Stone Cold?" He asks, looking rather liked a kicked puppy.

But he doesn't really know how to answer that anymore than Spinelli does. So, he leans against the SUV as close as Spinelli as he can get, and runs a hand through his hair. "I don't know." He replies honestly. "But we'll figure it out when we get there, alright?"

Spinelli nods, just as the gas pump stops. Jason deals with it quickly enough and then takes his place in the passenger's seat, taking a long sip of his black coffee.

"When you wanna switch, just let me know." Jason tells him, and turns the GPS system back on. "And there won't be any moose's, I promise." He adds, as an afterthought, as Spinelli pulls away from the gas station.

Spinelli rolls his eyes at the jab and drives on, but at least it gives him something else to focus on as opposed to why his sister has abandoned her child.

They stop again when they're 4 hours out of Oakfield, Spinelli is as exhausted as Jason, who's been sleeping soundly for a good while, although he simply chose to recline his seat as opposed to sleeping on Spinelli. They've gone through all their food and Jason's coffee was gone not thirty minutes after he got it.

"Stone Cold." He says, quietly. And that's all it takes. Jason is a light sleeper at the best of times, in the car, it's even easier to wake him, even though the soft noise from the radio doesn't. He's stopped them at a small diner, and a gas station is just next door. It's nearly 4 in the afternoon and they both need the break from the car.

They're out of the car much quicker this time, and Jason easily catches the keys Spinelli throws at him. Luckily, the diner isn't crowded with a late lunch-early dinner rush yet, and they manage to grab seats quickly off in one abandoned corner of the place.

A waitress, her name tag reads 'Lisa', approaches them, looking about as bored as they do, and sets down some menus. "Coffee?" She asks, and receives a 'yes' from the muscular man in the black t-shirt, and a 'no, thanks' from his not so muscular friend. She smiles rather pointedly at Jason as she prances off to get him his caffeine.

But Jason has paid her no mind, and hastily flips through the menu, just to set it down again a moment later. "You gonna wanna go to the hospital first? Or see if your sister is at home… wherever that is."

Spinelli shrugs, and pretends to be intently inspecting his own abused menu until Jason's hand pulls it away. "I… I suppose the hospital. But-"

The waitress returns, pouring Jason a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

He nods in thanks, but watches Spinelli. "You ready to order?" He asks. And his lover nods.

Lisa looks a little put off by his lack of attention, but takes out her notepad nonetheless. "What'll it be?" She asks, pen at the ready.

They both order simple cheeseburger and fry meals - with an orange soda for Spinelli - and wait patiently for their food. Jason continues to ignore the fact that the waitress is apparently his new biggest fan, and nudges Spinelli's foot under the table. "You were saying?"

"Oh, ugh, right. If Diana doesn't… want to be found, what will happen to her baby?" Spinelli inquires, nervous eyes glancing across the table at Jason.

Jason has thought of that, and he already knows his answer. "Then we'll take the baby back with us." He answers, without much in the way of hesitation. He's rather glad that their food hasn't come yet, though, because if it had, Spinelli probably would have choked on it. "If that's what you want."

Spinelli only stares at him in something akin to total awe. "You… really?"

"Yeah, really." Jason answers. The only thing he did know about Spinelli's family prior to this were his feelings on Jason keeping Elizabeth and Jake out of his life. And, while this child is not his or Spinelli's, he doubts those feelings are limited to specific people. Now that he knows some of the secrets Spinelli had spoken of, he is even more determined to make sure nothing within his control makes those feelings of abandonment stronger.

The waitress returns after a few moments of companionable silence. "Thanks." They both say at the same time, and Jason still pays no attention to the girl. They eat their food in the same silence as before, all the while Jason occasionally nudging Spinelli under the table because it makes him smile. And they're ready to go in virtually no time at all. Spinelli orders a milkshake to go, and Jason stocks up on more coffee. They pay and head back to the SUV, making one last quick stop at the gas station to refuel before they head out again.

"Get some sleep." Jason instructs. "There any hotels in Oakfield?" He imagines there are, as there are typically hotels near hospitals.

"Yeah." Spinelli confirms, and locates one on the GPS before he rests his head against Jason's shoulder again.

Jason smiles. "I'll wake you when we get there, then."

Spinelli's eyes drift closed after about thirty minutes. And now they're sitting in rush hour traffic. Music is still playing softly, but Jason doesn't mind so much, because if they end up returning from this trip with a baby in the backseat, it's probably one of the last quiet moments they're going to get for a while. He wraps one arm around Spinelli's shoulder and drives on.

They arrive at 9:17pm. 15 hours and thirty-odd minutes after leaving. Not bad time, considering the traffic, or their stops. He finds the hotel Spinelli set the GPS to easily enough and manages to keep Spinelli sleeping as he runs into the main office to check in. He books a room with a queen bed, and pays upfront before returning to the car.

Then they drive to the hospital, Spinelli still sound asleep, but looking less exhausted.

"Spinelli." He finally says, when they're parked in the mostly empty visitor's lot. "Hey, we're here. Come on."

"The hotel?" Spinelli inquires, looking around with sleepy eyes. "That was fast."

Jason laughs. "Not really. But, come on. We're at the hospital." He ruffles his lover's hair before he undoes both their seatbelts, and is forced to climb out of the car again before Spinelli will budge.

It's chilly out, not as cold as New York had been when they'd left, but the night air, combined with the winter weather, makes Spinelli walk a little closer to Jason than he would otherwise, and the security guard who lets them in stares at them for a second longer than necessary. "Nursery?" Jason asks, because really, he has no idea where to go, and the signs around them aren't much help.

"Down that hall, to your left." The guard says, then returns his attention to the Sudoku puzzle book he'd been working on before they 'd interrupted.

They make quick progress down the hall, and make the turn. The doors to the 'Family Birthplace' are shut for the evening, but there's a buzzer on the wall. Jason depresses the button and a voice through an overhead speaker reaches their ears. "_Who're you here to see?_" The disembodied voice questions.

"Ugh, we're here about Diana Spinelli." He answers, and he's not quite sure if he's supposed to say anything else. There's a long pause, and the door clicks and opens automatically. The two proceed through it quickly and spot a nurse's station a few yards ahead.

A familiar voice calls to them. The woman from the phone, she looks a little surprised to see two people, but at least she guesses which one of them is Spinelli correctly. "Mr. Spinelli." She says. "I'm glad you could get here so fast." She eyes Jason warily.

"Sorry it took so long, though. We live in New York." Jason explains.

She nods, and opts to ignore the other man's presence. "So Mr. Spinelli said. I'm Emma, I was Diana's nurse for most of her stay here, and she left this behind when she took off," she produces a folded over note, and hands it to her ex-patients brother. "To give to you."

Spinelli looks to Jason, but Jason only unhelpfully shrugs. So he unfolds the note to reveal his sister's bubbly handwriting.

-----

_Damian,_

_I can't do this. Don't try to find me. Just… Take care of her, okay? _

_– Diana._

_-----_

It's short and not all that sweet, a little bit heart-wrenching really, and he passes the note to his lover.

"Did… did she say anything about running away before she did?" Spinelli asks, eyes only focused on the ground.

Emma shakes her head. "No, she snuck out between shift changes. I'd just gotten back on." She explains.

"Can we see the baby?" Spinelli requests, and again the nurse eyes Jason suspiciously but she inevitably nods and leads the way down the hall toward a bunch of glass windows with drawn shades. Around the corner from that is a door that requires an access code, which Emma types in quickly. Another nurse looks up when they enter, and Emma steps aside."This is Ruby. Ruby, this is Diana's brother, Damian and ugh," She looks to Jason.

"Jason, my boyfriend." Spinelli answers automatically.

Emma stares at them for a moment. "Oh, um, that's nice." She says awkwardly, before she excuses herself, but when she does the other nurse gets their attention.

Ruby snorts, waving a dismissive hand at the now absent Emma. "Ignore her. You two are cute together." She grins, and looks through opposing windows, these with blinds up. She points toward one of the incubators in the middle of the room. "Baby Girl Spinelli here, she certainly is glad to see you."

"She doesn't have a name?" Jason inquires.

"Nope, her momma left before we had the chance to get her to fill out the birth certificate paperwork." Ruby says sadly, and offers them each a pair of scrubs to put on over their clothes and a pair of covers for their shoes. "Give me your jackets, wash your hands, put that stuff on and we can go in."

They follow her protocol to the letter and just a few minutes later they are allowed into the nursery. Ruby leads them to the incubator she'd been looking at previously, with 'Spinelli, Baby Girl' printed on the tag on the side, along with other information, too. And the number scrawled underneath the words matches the number on the tiny hospital band on the baby's ankle.

"And it looks like someone's conveniently awake." Ruby notes, when the infant starts kicking and squirming as she looks up at her admirers.

Spinelli turns into a giddy mess of insanity and clings to Jason's arm with a face splitting grin rapidly spreading across his features. He starts babbling in a quiet rush of Spinelli-speak, never taking his eyes off of his wriggling niece. "Ten fingers, Stone Cold," he squeaks out.

"She has ten toes, too," Ruby comments with an amused grin.

"Ten toes!" Spinelli repeats. "She has ten fingers and ten toes." Jason, to his credit, takes in the little person in front of him with more silent reverence.

"She's beautiful," Jason states simply, and Spinelli nearly gives himself whiplash nodding in agreement. Jason's settles his hand on the small of Spinelli's back. "Can he hold her?" He asks Ruby, because he doubts his lover will manage to get the words out. "If he calms down." He hints idly.

Spinelli stills nearly immediately and Ruby laughs and picks the silent and cooperative infant up. She shifts her to Spinelli, who, to his credit, has held babies before and therefore does know what he's doing. He cradles the beautiful baby girl carefully, supporting her head and neck, even as she reaches one hand out from the pink blanket she is slowly escaping from.

Jason stands behind his lover, looking over his shoulder as Spinelli slowly rocks back and forth, and he still has one hand still resting on Spinelli's back. He reaches his free arm around Spinelli's side to adjust the equally tiny pink hat on the baby's head and catches a glimpse of dark brown hair. "I'm sensing there's a very large shopping trip in the immediate future." Jason notes.

"When can she go home?" Spinelli asks. While he's still rather heartbroken over his somewhat irresponsible sister's abandonment, he's already fallen head over heels in love with the bundle in his arms.

"In the morning. She could go home now, but the hospital prefers that we don't discharge babies this late. It sounds like you two have some work to do in the morning anyway." Ruby explains. "And if you can think of a name, that would move things along, too. Since I assume you're not staying in town long?"

The younger shakes his head. "We're not staying long, and there are indeed some essentials we need to purchase before we can take the little one back to New York with us." He explains, even as he reluctantly sets the baby back in her incubator. "We'll be back in the morning, baby girl." He promises as he tickles her tummy.

Ruby leads the couple out of the nursery slowly, knowing they don't want to leave. "I'll have her ready to go at 11." She tells them, as she points to a bin for their hospital wear.

"We'll be here. Hopefully with a name." Jason assures her, and offers Spinelli his jacket as he pulls his own on.

"Thank you for your most caring assistance, Sanguine One." Spinelli smiles at Ruby. "It was most appreciated." He calls out as quietly as he can as he follows Jason out the door they came in and then subsequently down the hallways that lead back to the main entrance and the Sudoku obsessed security guard.

"What did that one mean?" Jason asks, rather used to the plethora of nicknames after having been with Spinelli for so long. He doesn't always get the reasoning behind them, though, so he usually ends up asking.

His lover doesn't answer until they're back in the SUV. "It means to be confidently optimistic and cheerful, and it is also synonymous with Ruby." He explains, as Jason begins the short trek back to the hotel.

Jason nods, that one makes sense. "Think we can come up with a name before tomorrow?"

Spinelli nods in the affirmative. "I might have a few proposable ideas, but we can think that through once we get to the hotel."

That doesn't take much time at all. They're in room 411, on the fourth floor, obviously. They park the SUV and grab their bags from the back and make their way to the elevator. And just a few moments later, they're collapsing onto the single queen mattress in the room.

"Do you think we should drive back?" Jason asks, once they've rested for a moment. Somehow 15 hours in a car with a two day old infant does not sound like a particularly good idea.

"Can we get the jet down here on such short notice?" Spinelli inquires. And it is a bit of a chance. Jason is rather picky with his pilots; he only trusts one of them. The only one he hired and not Sonny, and that man has a family of his own. He likes a little more notice than this. So he tacks that onto a mental list of things to do before 11am.

"I'll work on that." He says. "You, though. You need to start online shopping and express ship everything back to the Penthouse. We'll get what we need here in the morning before we go to get… her. And, yeah, we need to think of a name."

They set about their self-appointed tasks, Jason on his cell phone, making rather apologetic calls to his pilot buddy, and ultimately deciding that the 15 hour car ride was not, in fact, worth the poor guy missing his son's first little league game.

"We're driving." He informs Spinelli.

The computer hacker in question motions him over to where he is sitting on the bed with the laptop resting against his knees. "There…. There is an overwhelming amount of necessary supplies on here. None of which we have. How are we going to do this, Stone Cold?" Spinelli rambles, in a state of mild panic. "We don't have clothes, or diapers, or bottles, or milk, or a car seat, or anything."

Jason lies down beside him. "Relax." He whispers, an arm curling protectively around his lover. "Just order whatever we don't need right away and have it sent to New York. The stuff we do need for the trip home we'll worry about in the morning."

Spinelli does relax with Jason curled beside him. They can't go to sleep just yet, they need to get this stuff ordered, but it's nicer with Jason lying beside him pointing stuff out as he goes. His head rests against Spinelli's shoulder, which is a nice change, and by the time Spinelli presses the order button and dents Jason's bank account by what is probably a much smaller fraction than he thinks, they're both pretty exhausted.

It's only 1am or so, but they need the sleep. Jason's sets the alarm for 7, giving them enough time to shower and grab some breakfast before they head over to the local Babies R'Us store, which opens promptly at 8, or so says it's website.


	2. Part 1: II November 24, 2011

LOVE FOR A CHILD

**_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is finally officially done. I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during an FBI ambush, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!  
_**

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**-PART 1: Chapter 2/3-**

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**_November 24, 2011_**

Morning comes way too soon for the both of them, the obnoxious alarm is almost as annoying as Spinelli's cell phone had been yesterday morning, and God, was that only yesterday? The two men roll rather lazily out of bed and shower together, which both takes forever and is over way too fast. But they both figure that once the still unnamed baby joins their family that time for such things will be rather limited. After they finish with that, they pack up the car again, and check out before they make a stop at a Dunkin' Doughnuts and stock up on coffee and far more pastries than they actually require before they make for the store.

Luckily, the store is pretty vacant at such an early hour, and there's not really anyone to get in the way of their most vital shopping trip. Spinelli has made a list of all the things they need to get before they can go pick up the little girl. A name being at the top of it.

As Jason locates the second item on the list, one of a wide array of car seats, and the debate begins. "We need to think of something."

Spinelli has his nose buried in a book entitled '1001 Baby Names', and does not seem to register that his lover has addressed him. "When did names for babies get so… strange?" Spinelli inquires, setting the book, as it has thoroughly failed him, aside.

"When celebrities started getting creative?" Jason answers, and it gets a laugh out of Spinelli even as they browse through a rather insanely large collection of car-seats.

"That one." Spinelli points to one amongst many. "I jackaled the pros and cons of several of these last night." He explains, and Jason complies, and adds the newborn approved car seat to their purchases. "Does Stone Cold have any suggestions?"

"I'm thinking." Jason says, and they keep going. The next aisle they wander into is a plethora of blue baby clothes, and they can see toward the end, the colors turn to yellow. Presumably the next aisle over continues that trend. It does, and as expected yellow turns into varying shades of green and white and purple, and then eventually to a startling amount of pink everything. The elder leans against the cart while Spinelli picks this and that out of the 0-3 month section, just enough to tide them over until they can get home and shop properly. As he watches on, he starts randomly calling out girl's names. "Sarah? Julie? Kaitlyn? Riley? Abby?" He continues, despite the Jackal's lack of response. "Lauren? Zoe? Leah? Sadie? Rebecca?..."

Spinelli's head snaps up, signaling that Jason must have said something that caught his attention.

"What?"

"Sadie. That's my sister's middle name." Spinelli tells him. "Would Stone Cold be amenable to using that as a name?"

"I have a tendency to be amenable to anything you want, Spinelli." Jason replies.

Spinelli stops in front of him as he adds little tiny socks to their growing pile of supplies. "Sadie it is, then." He says with a grin, and then he gets a look in his eyes that informs Jason that his lover is very clearly up to something, but the elder is kind enough not to inquire further.

Jason smiles back at him, ignoring the purely devious look, and motions for Spinelli to continue on. "Diapers. We'll need lots and lots of diapers."

They leave the store at 10:22, with what seems like enough supplies to get them through an apocalypse as opposed to a 15 hour car ride. Jason packs as much as he can of things they won't immediately need into the back of the SUV while Spinelli makes up a diaper bag. They've already decided that they'll stop every three hours or so, more if necessary for feedings and diaper changes and whatever else is required, and that whoever is not driving will be sitting in back. Spinelli has also enlisted the help of one of the store's employees in making sure the car seat is installed correctly, even though Jason insists on checking the thing before they finally get going.

And at 10:54, they're entering the hospital again, walking just as close as they did the day before, this time with a fully stocked diaper bag on Spinelli's shoulder, and the portable part of the car seat in Jason's hand.

They can see Ruby waiting for them by the nursery when they're buzzed into the Family Birthplace again, this time without running into the Sudoku loving security guard and if they walk rather quickly to reach her, well, no one really pays them any mind.

"You made it." She grins.

"Indeed we did, Sanguine One." Spinelli responds, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement

Ruby laughs. "I googled that when I got home last night. Thank you." She doesn't take them to the nursery just yet though. Paperwork, boring as it may be, does come first. "You think of a name?"

Jason motions to Spinelli, who has that devious grin on his face again. "We did, in point of fact." Spinelli says, and when Ruby hands him the paperwork that asks for the baby's name, he writes it out quickly and confidently. And he hands the paper back to Ruby before Jason can catch what the big secret is.

"Sadie Morgan Spinelli?" She reads. Granted, she doesn't know Jason's last name, or why Spinelli is grinning at Jason like a fool, but the name is very cute and she is certainly tired of calling the poor nameless child 'Baby Girl'. "That's adorable."

"Morgan?" Jason looks pointedly at Spinelli, somewhere between amused and honored. "I knew you were up to something."

"The Jackal? Never." Spinelli grins.

Ruby is understandably confused. "Not arguing over names now are we?"

They both deny that, and then Jason explains. "Damian, here, has decided to be sneaky and use my last name as Sadie's middle name, is all."

Then, Ruby's grin pretty much rivals Spinelli's in that if it gets any bigger, faces are going to start simply splitting in two. She bounces up and down a little, again, not unlike Spinelli. "I'm so glad she gets to go home with a good family." She says. "We were all a little worried when your sister left, but I know you two will take excellent care of Sadie."

Spinelli looks touched at her words, but his excitement on seeing his niece again is clearly tangible at this point. "The Jackal does not mean to rush these proceedings, but…. Can we see her again, now?"

"As soon as you fill out the discharge paperwork, all three of you will be free to go." She offers them a couple more sheets of paper and waits patiently as Spinelli flies through all of it. Only a few moments pass before she's leading them into the nursery again.

Ruby calls one of the nurses inside of the room to bring the baby out, while she sets them up in one of the outside exam rooms. "You got all the stuff you're gonna need?" She inquires, and Spinelli then launches into a game of 20 questions over whether or not they've purchased the appropriate type of formula and anything else he can think of. She explains the feeding schedule Sadie's been on, which, very helpfully matches up pretty well with their plan, and then the nurse brings the baby girl in and Spinelli finally quiets.

The nurse hands the baby off to Jason before exiting as promptly as she entered, and Jason takes on the task of changing the new addition to his and Spinelli's quirky family, before he pulls on one of the tiny little pink outfits Spinelli chose, followed by equally pink and equally tiny socks. The ID band has already been removed, so she's all clear to go. "That everything?" He asks Spinelli, but finds the younger man brandishing the pale purple blanket they both settled on – really, not everything has to be pink, Jason argued, despite the not-so-regrettably pink room that Spinelli used to inhabit – and wraps the infant in it.

"You're good to go." Ruby tells them.

Jason passes the baby to Spinelli who takes care to buckle Sadie safely in her car seat, and spends a long moment grinning and smiling at the purple wrapped child. But then he turns back to Ruby. "If, ugh, the need arises, could we call on you with any questions?"

They leave the hospital with a phone number and an order to call anytime they have a question. Spinelli's is carefully holding the now occupied car seat, and Jason has the diaper bag tossed over his shoulder.

"I'll drive first." He says, and helps Spinelli get the seat and its cargo back into place. Spinelli grins at him, and Jason tugs on his shirt so that they're standing less than an inch apart and presses a quick kiss to his lover's lips.

"You're the best, Stone Cold." The younger grins, and circles around to the other side of the vehicle to sit beside the baby while Jason climbs into the driver's seat.

Sadie starts to cry a half an hour into the drive, which isn't all that surprising, but it is a stark difference from the relative silence of the ride. "She okay?" Jason asks, his eyes meeting Spinelli's in the rear-view mirror for a brief second, but otherwise focuses on the road as Spinelli works at soothing the infant.

Spinelli reaches over the seat to where the bags from the store rest, and comes up with a neon green stuffed octopus. It's soft and cuddly and attracts Sadie's attention almost immediately. One tiny hand extends from the confines of the blanket and even tinier fingers curl around several of its tentacles.

"Aww, Stone Cold. She's so cute." Spinelli squeaks, and tickles her softly.

The crying tapers off almost as quickly as it started and the sleepy infant is quiet for the majority of the time it takes them to get to their first change over. They stop at another gas station. Jason refuels, and this time Spinelli handles the diaper changing, but this time it's also feeding time, too. They have instant baby formula – just add warm water, it claims - which Spinelli takes into the gas station's main area and commandeers the use of the microwave to prepare. He test the temperature on his wrist as Ruby and the internet have both instructed him and quickly returns to Stone Cold and Sadie who are waiting in the warm car.

She squirms half-heartedly in Jason's hold but settles down once he starts feeding her. Spinelli sits beside him, watching intently, his eyes filled with awe over how well this is all going. "Think she's had enough?" Jason muses, when she starts protesting against the last bit of formula.

"Seems like it." Spinelli answers, and accepts eagerly when Jason passes her to him. He walks around in chilly air with her once again wrapped up in her pale purple blanket. He has a rag tossed over his shoulder as he rocks gently and attempts to burp her. But she's more interested in cuddling against him and away from the cold so it takes a little while. When he does finally get her to burp, which miraculously does not lead to spit up, he bounces idly for a few more moments before returning to the car. She's asleep when he lays her back down in the car seat. "Shhh…" Spinelli whispers as Jason climbs in beside her, and they're both as quiet as they can be when they shut the doors.

Sadie sleeps for a good hour and a half, but then wakes rather fussily and even Jason and the neon green octopus do not sooth her. "I think she needs changing." Jason observes, and Spinelli drives for a few more minutes before he realizes they're close to the diner they ate at yesterday. "We can stop here and get something to eat ourselves, while we're at it." He explains, as he pulls the SUV into the same spot as yesterday.

Jason gets the car seat undone again and grabs the diaper bag and yet again they enter the quaint little diner. It's just as not-crowded as the previous day, and Jason suspects that maybe business is just always slow. "Table for two," He says, with his eyes on Sadie. "And the restroom?" He looks up to see Lisa, the waitress from the previous day gaping at him. "Oh. Hi." He says cheerfully, and ends up just steering Spinelli toward the same table as yesterday.

"Awkward." Spinelli whispers to him as they sit down across from each other. The younger laughs in good humor before Jason takes baby Sadie into the restroom to change her again.

By the time he returns from that task, Spinelli is sipping an orange soda and there is a large black coffee sitting across from him. "Thought you'd want it." Spinelli tells him. He sets the car seat, and by default the infant tucked carefully in it, on the table between them and takes a long sip.

Jason nods and smiles. "Thanks." He looks about ready to say something else, too, but then his phone rings. He grabs it quickly from his pocket, not wanting the sound to set Sadie off. The caller ID reads 'Carly'. "Yeah?"

"_Jase, does Spinelli know your credit card numbers?_" Comes the familiar voice of one of his oldest friends.

"He does, actually." Jason replies, matter-of-factly. "But, if this is about the mass of boxes piled outside of the Penthouse, I already know about them." He watches Spinelli watch him curiously, before he mouths 'Carly', and the younger nods in understanding. "What are you doing snooping around there anyway?"

An incredulous scoff. "_Me? Snooping? Jason, that hurts._" Carly protests. "_And it just so happens I've been looking everywhere for you because Jax took Morgan to Australia to visit Jane. Can you believe that? Australia? And on a school night._"

Jason has to laugh as Carly harrumphs in utter disbelief at her husband's shenanigans. "That… that is pretty crazy. But also very Jax." He answers. "And Spinelli and I are somewhere between Tennessee and New York."

"_What?_"

Just then Lisa walks up to them again, this time not very interested in Jason at all. "What'll it be?" She says, just as she did the previous day, only with a bit of forced politeness.

Spinelli fumbles to give their untouched menus back to the waitress and inadvertently knocks over the salt and pepper shakers sitting in the middle of the table. Unlike the cell phone's brief ring, that does manage to upset Sadie, and the baby lets out a shrill cry even as Spinelli mutters an apology and uprights the items. "Sadie, Sadie, come on." He says softly, one hand digging through the diaper bag to retrieve the green octopus.

"_Is… was that a baby? Jason what's going on?_" Jason can still hear Carly interrogating him but he sets his phone down and aids Spinelli in calming the baby girl.

"You wanna walk her around?" Jason asks, already unbuckling Sadie again.

Spinelli reaches out to take her and slips out the front doors again, already bouncing her lightly in his arms.

"Sorry." He tells the waitress, who is still just standing there, looking a little bit sheepish, maybe. "Ugh. We'll just have the same as yesterday. Burgers and fries." He says, and he's really more interested by watching Spinelli through the window than ordering. But, the waitress nods and walks away.

"_JASON!_"

Then he remembers his phone. "What?"

"_What's going on?"_

He sighs and runs a hand over his face. "It's a long story. Can… would you just get the boxes inside, if you feel like it?"

She agrees and they end the call. Spinelli doesn't return until a moment before their food arrives, and puts Sadie back in her seat, and she's sound asleep, despite the hustle and bustle inside the diner.

"What did Valkyrie Carly want?" Spinelli inquires, as he eats.

Jason grins. "To know if you'd jackaled my credit card information and gone a little overboard shopping." The younger looks somewhat insulted by that, but he shrugs. "She's going to get all of the boxes inside. Probably look through them all, too."

They don't stay much longer. They have a long drive still ahead of them, and they're only about a third of the way through it. Jason is driving again this time, and Sadie is still sound asleep in the backseat with Spinelli.

"Should we get a hotel for the night and go on in the morning, do you think?" Jason asks, when 11 o'clock hits. It's raining now, and they're eleven hours in, and they've stopped twice more since the diner. Since neither Jason nor Spinelli has had much at all in the way of sleep for the previous two nights, they're both pretty exhausted. But, they also only have about four more hours to go.

Spinelli thinks it over for a moment, eyes fixed on Baby Sadie, as he has begun calling her, as she stares at the patterns the rain is making against the windows. "Taking shelter for the night would indeed be the safer alternative to driving in this rather inclement weather." He inevitably agrees, and Jason drives for another five minutes or so until they find some common chain hotel that will hopefully have a crib they can use.

"Stay here." Jason says, and leaves the car running while he runs into the main office to check in and request a crib while Spinelli stays in the warm, dry car with Sadie. He emerges several moments later, completely soaked from the five second walk to and from the car, but with a room key in hand.

"Did you request a crib?" Spinelli inquires, and really, he probably should have offered Jason the umbrella stowed under the passenger's seat before he jumped out.

Jason nods, nearly shivering from the cold. "Yeah. We go in through the same door. There's a hallway, they'll bring it down to us in a few minutes."

The younger grabs the umbrella and looks out the window. "It seems to be pouring proverbial cats and dogs, Stone Cold."

Jason spots the umbrella. "Yeah. I'm already soaked. I'll get the bags. You take Sadie and get inside, okay?" He decides, as he shuts the car off and pockets the keys.

Spinelli nods in agreement and unhooks the seat. He slings the diaper bag over his shoulder and opens the car door, brandishing the umbrella which springs open promptly. "Alright, Sadie Baby," He says, and slides out, holding the infant in her seat close. He stops long enough to see Jason moving around to the back of the car before he shuts his own door and swiftly moves toward the main doors, already shaking out and closing the umbrella.

Jason meets him inside a moment later, looking more like a near-drowning victim than ever. "Room 122." He says, and points toward the hall.

Spinelli grins at that. "122 Harbor View Drive." He laughs at the coincidence and picks up his pace. His lover looks rather in desperate need of a hot shower.

The room is pretty standard. A bed, TV on a stand with a couple of drawers. Small table, and two chairs. Mediocre bathroom. But it'll do the trick. Jason holds off on his much desired shower until the crib shows up, which takes fifteen minutes of shivering and just as many minutes of Spinelli's insistence that he get on with it already.

When they finally get the crib in, and Spinelli lays the soundly sleeping Sadie down to rest, he follows Jason into the bathroom. "Stone Cold?"

Jason turns to him, adjusting the water temperature in the shower which sounds like it has a predictably barely existent water pressure. "Yeah?"

Spinelli nudges him against the wall and presses his lips to his lovers. "Thanks for all this. I… I know it's a lot to take, but, it is most definitely much appreciated." No Jackal speak. Jason has learned that that doesn't happen often. He's even more surprised when Spinelli takes the time to peel Jason's totally soaked black t-shirt over his head – since it's looked like a very tempting-to-remove second skin ever since he saw it – and he nuzzles his nose softly against the elder's cool neck. "And I love you."

"Love you, too, Spin." He echoes and leans down to kiss the other man. But a shrill cry from the next room breaks them apart. Jason laughs. "And we should start getting used to that."

"Yeah." Spinelli agrees, and slips out of the room again. He finds Sadie squirming about as much as a three day old baby can, and lifts her out of the crib once more. "What's wrong, Baby Sadie?" He asks, and as he expects, the only response he gets is more crying. She just got fed not that long ago, so he knows it's not that. He checks her diaper That's it. So he sets about changing her again. "That's better, is it not?" He asks, and the crying has toned down. He realizes that the octopus is nowhere to be found, which probably has very little impact, but he'd still like to think she likes the goofy thing. When he locates it, in the bottom of her diaper bag, she quiets. "Aha." He declares, with a grin on his face.

"Mrrrr…" Sadie coos, sounding quite contented. The tiny hand that is not clutching the octopus for dear life flails about until Spinelli catches it with one of his own, much larger, ones. She latches on to that, too, her entire hand barely wrapped around one of his fingers.

He can't help but grin. She did the same thing to Jason in the car a while ago and it took him nearly ten minutes to free himself. "You got me." He admits, and bounces slightly to appease her. Spinelli stands there just watching her for he doesn't even know how long. But, the next thing he knows, Jason is stepping out of the bathroom, so it's undoubtedly been a while.

"You're really good with her." Jason grins, as he adjusts his towel to go dig his clothes out of his bag, ruffling Spinelli's hair as he walks by.

Sadie is asleep in his arms now, but he doesn't put her back in her crib just yet. "Thanks, Stone Cold." He smiles, as he watches Jason finish changing. "Could you be kind enough to take her so I can shower, too?"

Jason carefully lifts the bundle from his arms and Spinelli goes about wandering into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, everyone is asleep. Spinelli wrapped up in Jason's arms and one of Spinelli hands in constant contact with the rails of the crib. Numerous times they're woken up by crying, but they handle it as quickly and efficiently as they have been all day.


	3. Part 1: III November 25, 2011

LOVE FOR A CHILD

**_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is finally officially done. I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during an FBI ambush, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!  
_**

* * *

**-PART 1: Chapter 3/3-**

* * *

**_November 25, 2011_**

By the time morning comes, Jason is already awake, and has the freshly changed and recently fed baby lying on his chest. Sadie is asleep again, she sleeps a lot, really, and Jason is waiting for Spinelli to wake up on his own before they head out. It's only eight in the morning, but Jason is surprisingly well rested and ready to go.

"Stone Cold?" Spinelli mumbles a while later, when the sun begins to blind him through the undrawn curtains across the room, all traces of last night's rain gone.

"Morning." Jason replies, and his alertness makes Spinelli roll his eyes.

The younger groans and rolls over, intending to once again bury his head in the pillow but then he catches sight of Sadie sleeping soundly on his lovers chest and is suitably distracted. "She doing okay?"

He nods. "She was still a little too sleepy to drink all of her formula, but, yeah." Jason reports. "I walked her around a bit and changed her and she's been sleeping since."

"She looks very comfortable in my spot." Spinelli grins, his head leaning against Jason's shoulder.

"She's a lot lighter, too." The elder teases, but he doesn't laugh because he knows the movement would wake Sadie.

Spinelli's hand moves to run through the light dusting of brown hair on her head. "That was uncalled for." He says as barely an afterthought, too caught up in Sadie to really take even mock offense. "When we get home we can give her her first bath."

"And set up all the stuff we ordered." Jason adds, because putting all that stuff together will be a lot of work.

"I'm sure Baby Sadie will be most appreciative of the not so regrettably pink room."

Jason reluctantly glances at the clock. Nearly ten. "We should get going soon, if we don't want to get caught in traffic." He's already dressed and packed, but Spinelli isn't, and he's sure there'll be another feeding before they manage to get out of the room.

Just as disinclined to getting out of bed as Jason is, Spinelli is even more sluggish than usual in untangling himself from the warm covers. He dresses quickly and packs up his bag again, and does the same for the very sleepy baby now stirring on Jason's chest.

She's only awake long enough for Jason to get her back into her car seat, though, because she's still fresh and he's already put her in clean clothes.

After a quick breakfast in the hotel's meager café, where they also take the time to feed Sadie once more, the trio is on the road again, this time with Spinelli driving. The four hour drive is in surprisingly light traffic, and pleasant weather, so they make it home in just over three.

"122 Harbor View Drive." Spinelli repeats. "Home never looked so good." He says as he pulls the SUV back into the parking garage. It seems like they've been gone for forever, as opposed to three days.

Jason has to agree, he thinks, as he undoes the car seat once more. Between he and Spinelli, they manage to get their bags and Sadie's supplies, along with the baby herself, of course, all up to the Penthouse in one trip. Upon entering, they are faced with a menagerie of boxes. "Wow."

"You can say that again." Jason laughs.

"Wow." Spinelli repeats. "That… that is quite the plethora of packages."And it certainly is. One pile of boxes stands as tall as Jason does. A larger one is parked near the sofa and various other piles are scattered about, as well. "The Jackal cannot even fathom where we should begin."

Jason sets the bags down, removing his pocket knife from his jeans pocket. "The big one I suppose." He crosses the room and slices through the packaging. "The crib." He states, as expected. "Project number one."

On the plus side, the helpfully pink room has been emptied of all of Spinelli's previous furniture. It's all been put in storage save for an air mattress stored in the closet. So, at least they don't have to spend time getting all of that out.

"Should the Jackal call in reinforcements?" Spinelli inquires still taking in the vast amount of boxes. Sadie begins to stir in her carrier and the younger man unhooks her and lifts her into his arms. "Welcome home Sadie Baby. I assure you, it looks much better when not overwhelmed without the cardboard décor."

Jason laughs, and is about to respond to Spinelli's inquiry when the door to the Penthouse bursts open. "Spinelli! Jason! Where have you been?" Maxie declares, with Lulu and Johnny close on her heels. Mass arguing ensues between the young trio, about rent, about the terms of agreements. Maxie's eyes fall on Jason. "Could you please remind these two again what 'rent on the first of the month' means, Jason? Because clearly Bonnie and Clyde here haven't quite gotten it through their heads just yet." She says, quite irritated, arms folded over her chest. Suddenly crying overtakes it all, louder than Lulu and Maxie's newest catfight. Everyone stops. "Spinelli?" Maxie stares.

Spinelli waves and bounces the bawling infant slightly. "Maximista, Dark Prince, Fair Lulu, may the Jackal present to you Baby Sadie. Baby Sadie, meet the Constantly Quarreling Roommates currently living but one floor down."

The three have the sense to look suitably sheepish for barging in as they did, at least, even if they looked as if they would have liked to argue with Spinelli's introduction. Nevertheless, Jason captures their attention.

"Guys, come on, you know the drill." The elder is regretting his hand in getting them an apartment in the same building. Especially considering they've had this argument every month since they'd moved in, nearly half a year ago. With Sonny and Anthony in FBI custody, Johnny on his side, and no other threats running around town, it had seemed like a good decision at the time. He tries to enforce pretty strict rules on the rent, just so they'll get the hang of it for when they aren't living in a building he happens to practically own. But, he doesn't feel like reading them the riot act right now. "Tell you what. Help us out with all this stuff and pay what you can next week and we'll call it even."

Johnny and Lulu exchange looks, and Maxie rolls her eyes at the free pass, but inevitably all parties agree. "Deal."

"Glad that's settled." Jason answers, and motions Johnny over to help him with the largest box.

Spinelli finds himself suddenly flanked with the two blonds, who seem utterly fascinated by Sadie. "Who's is she?" Lulu asks.

While Spinelli explains the abridged version of Sadie's parentage and why he and Jason are now in charge of raising a newborn infant, Johnny and Jason manage to get the crib box up the stairs and into the pink room. Eventually. It's quite a noisy spectacle, as evidently cribs are quite difficult to put together, but it gets done. Then comes the changing table. Meanwhile, as the trio of Spinelli, Maxie, and Lulu go about sorting through the remaining boxes, they also take turns watching Sadie. Lulu shies away from changing her but is otherwise pretty good with her. Not so much babysitting material. Maxie, however, has improved on such matters. She babysits Emma periodically, and Spinelli takes that into account when he allows Maxie to feed Sadie.

"How come she gets to?" Lulu asks, sounding more like a jealous sibling than she really should.

"Maximista helped change her." Spinelli explains, and Lulu balks at that idea, and the argument ends.

Lulu and Maxie spend a good while arguing over the placement of the crib in relation to other furniture in the pink room. And then there's an even longer argument while fighting over the little details of the room. Spinelli tries to mediate, but his opinions on the matter are overruled quite often – the only thing they ever do agree on.

Jason and Johnny are downstairs with Sadie, taking a break after doing most of the hard work.

By the time the girls and Spinelli actually get everything arranged upstairs, the arguments are still going. "Not the fluffy one." Lulu protests. The first set of bedding they try is loose and frilly, and Maxie likes it.

"Why not?" Maxie protests.

Spinelli appears between them, offering both bottles of water. "Oh. No, that won't do." He protests. "The Jackal's cyber research says that newborn infants bedding shouldn't be loose."

"Oh." Maxie says, looking guilty. "Yeah, that would make sense." She smiles apologetically at Lulu as they remove the lacey pink and white sheets. "Which one did you want to try?"

Lulu holds back on the narcissistic gloating for having been right and instead holds up another bedding set. "I was thinking teddy bears." And they try it. It fits snugly, and there's just enough pink in some of the bears for it to satisfy the two Fashionistas.

It takes the five of them until late afternoon to get through all the boxes and get everything organized in Sadie's new room. At half past seven, Jason has ordered them all pizza and sent them back to their own apartment to enjoy being rent free for the month.

"Finally." He declares, as he sits down on the couch beside Spinelli who is once again feeding Sadie. By now, they've started to rely less on a clock and more on Sadie herself. She's started letting them know when she's hungry and she'll deny food if she's not– Ruby had explained such to Spinelli when he'd called her while Jason and Johnny had been working. "Once her stomach settles a bit, we'll give her a bath."

Three hours later, Jason is laying one freshly bathed and changed Sadie down in her teddy bear covered crib for the first time. Bath time had gone surprisingly well - granted giving a sponge bath to a rather sleepy four day old infant could not prove to be overwhelmingly difficult any way Jason tried to spin it - and now all three of them are all ready to sleep for a few hours.

Only, she suddenly doesn't seem all that intrigued by the tempting idea of sleep anymore. Sadie stares up at her two caregivers, her eyes flitting all about the room through the bars of her crib.

"Perchance a lullaby?" Spinelli proposes, looking to Jason for his opinion on the matter.

The elder nods. "You're the singer here, not me."

Spinelli pauses in thought for a moment. "What shall I sing?"

"Whatever you want to?" Jason so helpfully suggests, just as Sadie shows the beginnings of starting to cry.

The hacker only takes a second longer to file through the mental library of song lyrics in his head before he decides on something. "_When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see. No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid_," He looks to Jason as Sadie begins to quiet, her big baby blue eyes landing on him as she watches with as much attention as a four day old can. "_Just as long as you stand, stand by me_…" The song continues on and by the time it concludes, Sadie is soundly asleep.

"You sure she'll be okay all alone in here, Stone Cold?" Spinelli whispers, nervous even as he checks and double checks the baby monitor set up beside her crib. The other one sits on the nightstand on Spinelli's side of the bed that he and Jason share.

Jason assures him once again that Sadie is as safe as she possibly can be, and finally manages to quietly guide his lover out of the room and down the hall to their own bedroom. "Come on, we should rest while we can." He prompts, tugging at Spinelli's am to pull him into bed.

Spinelli, already clad in one of Jason's old shirts and comfortable sleep plants, obliges, curling up beside Jason like he always does. "I know." He admits, as he pulls the blankets up and around them. "It's just that, since we left the hospital. I've been trying to contact Diana and have gotten nothing in the way of results. The Jackal is admittedly very much concerned for her."

"Of course you are." He says. "She's your sister. We'll look into it I promise, okay?" Jason tells him, and he will. He'll do whatever it takes to make Spinelli happy. Hire a P.I. to sniff around in Tennessee for them. Whatever. But for now, they're both going to need as much rest as they can get to take care of Sadie. "Just get some sleep for now, alright?" He presses a kiss to the top of Spinelli's head and winds his arms tighter around the younger's frame.

"Alright." Spinelli agrees, and Jason watches his eyes finally drift closed.


	4. Part 2: I April 19, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_**Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) This chapter is a little short, but that's just cause of my dividing method. Next one is long, I promise. All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!**_

* * *

**-PART 2: Chapter 1/2-**

* * *

**_April 19, 2012_**

Five months pass in a surprisingly rapid and chaotic blur. At first, no one really knows quite what to make of the newest addition to the Morgan-Spinelli family, but eventually Baby Sadie charms everyone in contact with her, most of all her impromptu parents. Jason and Spinelli are entirely at her mercy.

Contacting Diana has gone exactly nowhere, and even the P.I. they hired turned up nothing, and eventually Spinelli seemed to finally accept that.

Doctor's appointments have gone just fine. Ruby is still on Spinelli's speed dial, and Maxie and Lulu and Johnny have turned into excellent babysitters in the rare event that they are actually needed. Sadie is now a squirmy, active, and loud, five month old. She's mastered rolling over for the most part, by now, and has started trying to sit up on her own, and it's only a matter of time before she figures out how to crawl. This is both an appealing thought as far as the extensive catalogue of firsts Spinelli has managed to catch on video, but also a sign of certain doom in that they will now be chasing a moving ball of energy around the Penthouse as opposed to sitting by a stationary one.

Now, though, they're enjoying a calm evening in the post bath time hours at the Penthouse. Jason's on the couch pretending to watch television, even as he watches Spinelli and Sadie play contentedly on the floor in front of him. He has the green octopus out, as always -it remains Sadie's favorite toy, only now she cries when it's not around. The concept of object permanence is both a blessing and a curse.

Eventually Jason gives up his the façade of watching the news reports on the opening of some new, fancy restaurant, as well as his spot on the sofa and slides to the floor to join his family. He lies on his side with his head propped up on his arm, Spinelli sits on Sadie's other side, but Jason's socked feet immediately draw her attention away from her green octopus. She coos and squirms her way closer, grinning at him when she grabs hold of his toes.

"Sadie Baby." Spinelli says, moving closer himself as she tries to tug off the offending material. "I don't think we should do that. Stone Cold has stinky feet." Her attention turns to him and she smiles at him when he makes a face and pinches his nose.

"I do not." Jason counters, shoving Spinelli lightly, before he grabs the octopus and recaptures the baby's attention.

Spinelli snorts. "Such violence, and with the little one present." He shoves back just the same and lies down to lean against Jason's chest, trapping Sadie between them and the couch. He snatches the octopus back from Jason and moves it about in front of Sadie, who watches in apt fascination.

"If only you were that easy to entertain." Jason teases, one arm curled awkwardly around his lover. He presses a kiss to Spinelli's neck and nudges him playfully. And they stay like that for a good while before Jason announces, "Come on, I think it's just about bed time."

Spinelli nods and sits up again, wrangling the five-month old into his arms before he stands up. "Alright, Baby Sadie, you heard Stone Cold. Time for bed." Jason stays behind to clean up the various toys scattered about, then he checks the lock on the door and flips the lights out before he follows Spinelli upstairs.

Spinelli is just laying her down in her teddy bear crib when Jason slips into the room. "Your turn tonight, right?" Jason asks.

The younger nods. "Affirmative." It took them a while to work out who handled 'getting her to fall asleep' detail. Eventually, they got it down, though. Spinelli sings a lullaby or Jason reads a story. Both work equally as well, even if Jason favors Spinelli's nights.

They both stand beside the crib, Jason watching Spinelli expectantly. "What's it gonna be tonight?"

"Fall Out Boy?" Spinelli randomly suggests, but Jason only unhelpfully shrugs. He knows Jason just likes hearing him sing. He takes a deep breath and begins. "_Honey is for bees, silly bear. Besides there's jelly beans… everywhere. It's not what it seems, in the land of dreams, don't worry your head, just go to sleep…_"

Jason watches both Spinelli and Sadie intently as the song progress, and by the time he hits the final line of the short, slow tune, Sadie is asleep with a smile on her face. "I'm not your only fan, at least." He says quietly, as he slings an arm over Spinelli's shoulder to steer him out of the room.

"Good to know, Stone Cold." Spinelli replies, as they slip into their room and set about their own night time protocols. Moments later, they're curled up in bed together, ears at this point well-trained to wake up at the slightest sound from the baby monitor still sitting on Spinelli's nightstand.


	5. Part 2: II April 20, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_**Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!**_

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**-PART 2: Chapter 2/2-**

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**_April 20, 2012_**

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Five hours later and Spinelli is awake with a fussy, hungry infant in his arms. He's moving about the kitchen preparing her bottle with practiced ease. "Just a moment, Baby Sadie." He soothes her, as he checks the temperature. Satisfied, he slides into one of the chairs and sets about feeding her. Her grabby little hands hold the bottle up some now, which Spinelli allows, but he still watches her like a hawk.

She finishes it quickly enough and soon she is sound asleep in her crib again. Spinelli goes back downstairs to get himself a drink of water before returning to bed himself, only a knock at the door distracts him on his return to the stairs. "Who…" He starts, but finds himself walking towards it anyway.

"Damian!" A familiar voice calls frantically from the other side, and Spinelli flings the door open in shock.

His mother is standing there, her hand still raised and poised to knock again. "Mom?" He gapes. "What are you doing here?" A second later the stairwell door opens and another figure comes racing out. "Diana?" Both look just like they did the last time Spinelli saw them. Older, but the same. Diana with longer brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail like always, and their mother's barely shoulder length and curly.

She runs up to him and throws her arms around him. "Damian!" She echoes their mother and cries into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry; she wasn't supposed to find out!"

"What… what's going on?" He demands as quietly as he can. He ushers them inside and points them toward the couch.

"I've just been informed of Diana's… indiscretion. Her latest boyfriend showed up in the middle of the night last night demanding to know what Diana had done with his child. I was understandably confused, and imagine my surprise when I find out that I've been a grandmother for five months and haven't known about it." Their mother, Casey, rants, with a glare somewhere between irritated and frustrated trained on her daughter and a tone that is one part sarcasm, one part aggravation. "And then, as if that weren't enough, she tells me that she planned to give the baby to you. And where are you? Not with your grandmother. We have been driving ourselves insane trying to find you and if it weren't for the hospitals records we likely never would have."

Spinelli stares. He's been staying with Jason for nearly six years now and no one noticed he'd even left? "I've been living here since 2006. And I've been trying to contact you," he motions to Diana, "since I returned from the trip to Tennessee to collect Baby Sadie."

Diana smiles, momentarily sidetracked. "Sadie? You named her Sadie?"

"Sadie Morgan Spinelli." He elaborates. "But that's not the most relevant-" Spinelli finds himself cut off and promptly ignored as mother and daughter begin to argue again. Spinelli doesn't even know what triggered it, but suddenly there's yelling and his sister is crying and then there's even more crying from an entirely new direction.

"What's going on?"

Jason is standing on the bottom step, looking very much like he'd just like to turn around and go back to sleep in his bed-rumpled t-shirt and sleep pants. But Sadie is quieting in his arms gripping his shirt as if it were her beloved green octopus.

Spinelli looks decidedly relieved to see him and crosses the room to stand beside his lover. "Ugh, Stone Cold, meet the familial unit of the Jackal: Diana, you've heard about her, and our Mom, Casey. Family unit, meet Jason Morgan."

Diana ignores Jason completely, and her eyes hone in on the baby in his arms. Casey, however, takes in his appearance suspiciously, eyes shifting between her son and the strange man holding her granddaughter. The connection between Sadie's middle name and this Jason's last is not lost on her, either.

Jason nods in greeting and then he pulls Spinelli aside. "You wanna help me with feeding her?" Jason says, even though he knows that Spinelli was up long enough to do that before all the racket started and he'd heard Spinelli moving about in her room and singing a quick lullaby when he put her back to sleep.

"I already-" Spinelli tries to argue, but then he gets it and they duck into the kitchen quickly. "I mean, of course."

"What's going on?" The elder repeats, once they're safely behind closed doors.

Spinelli shrugs, because he still doesn't know that himself. "Mom found out about the baby and they came up here looking for me. They were unaware that the Jackal no longer resides in Oakfield."

Jason looks hardly relieved by the answer. "And what does your Mom intend to do about this?"

"About?"

"About us having Sadie?" Jason edits. "Is she going to try to convince your sister to take her away from us?" He asks, very much disliking that idea. Sadie may not be theirs, but hell would freeze over before Jason let her go without a damn good reason. He's already planning to call Diane as soon as possible about this and he's scolding himself for having not done so sooner.

Spinelli looks thoroughly floored by Jason's question. Clearly he hadn't been thinking of ulterior motives for his family's impromptu visit. "I… honestly don't know, Stone Cold." He finally says, terrified green eyes now locked on Jason and Sadie. "What do we do if that's indeed what they are here for?"

Jason sighs. "I'll call Diane and get her to look into it in the morning, see what she can do. In the mean time, let's just try and figure out what they want, okay?" He passes Sadie to his lover and ruffles his hair before heading toward the door.

As they proceed back into the warzone that is currently their living room, Sadie now tucked safely in Spinelli's arms, it is evident that none of them are going to get to go back to sleep anytime soon. Diana and Casey are at it again, and Spinelli can't believe he'd forgotten how much they always argued.

"-tell me about it! If you had learned from all of the mistakes I made when I was your age, none of this would even be happening."

Spinelli steps into the madness, even as Jason tries to stop him. "Ignoring the fact that you have, in fact, just called me a 'mistake,' Mother, I must humbly request that you and Diana cease and desist this argument at once. Baby Sadie is attempting to sleep."

Diana quiets, and looks rather sheepish for taking part in the pointless argument, even as she shoots a final glare at their mother. Casey, however, remains difficult. She puts her hands on her hips in stubborn refusal to back down.

Spinelli knows that look; it means his mother feels she has been 'betrayed'. Really, it's kind of reminiscent of Sonny's tirades whenever someone does something he doesn't totally agree with. No wonder he and Mr. Sir had never gotten along, he thinks. He also knows a guilt trip is well on its way.

"I drive all the way to New York because you didn't have the decency to call and tell us you'd left. I drive all the way out here to see the granddaughter I didn't know I had and this is how you repay me?" Casey scoffs. "By telling me to be quiet and not talk to my own daughter?"

His eyes close. He hadn't missed this. "I didn't say-" He cuts himself off. It's better to just not say anything. Enabling her controlling ways never ends well.

"Well? Damian?" She prods, and clearly she's had several years of time to build up her need to berate him.

Diana tries to step in, then. "Mom, come on, stop. Damian just doesn't want Sadie to-"

"Was I talking to you?" Their mother snaps, quite affronted by the double-team effect, and Jason stands on the sidelines of the family war wondering what he's supposed to do. He'd always tried to avoid conflict even amongst the insane Quartermaine clan. Throwing himself into the middle of a three way argument does not seem the wisest decision for anyone because Spinelli and Diana seem to at least know how to defuse their mother.

"Mom, you need to chill out." Spinelli warns her, because Sadie is already fussing and squirming and he knows if she starts crying it's only going to stress his mother out more, which isn't good for anyone. "If you're going to come barging into Casa De Stone Cold in the middle of the night you are not going to do it whilst yelling up a storm." He senses, more than he actually sees Jason inching his way closer.

And Jason's movement turns out to be a really good call, because his mother rounds on him with a menacing glare on her face at being called out on her immature behavior.

"How dare you mouth off to me, Damian." Casey seethes, continuing her tirade. "After all I've done for you, you're going to repay me by… what? Kicking me out of a house that's not even yours?" Because there's no way has her son managed to get this kind of a house while she's still stuck in blasted Oakfield. "How dare you?" She raises a hand as if to smack her son, and that's when Jason has had enough.

He catches her wrist in his hand a safe distance away from his lover's face, stone cold glare sufficiently invoked as he steps between her and Spinelli. "Okay. Let's just stop this right now and get a few things straight. First, Spinelli does live here. I own a large part of the building and Spinelli's name is on anything my name is on, so by default, he also owns most of this building. Second of all, definitely more importantly, we do not hit Spinelli. Ever. And we definitely don't hit him when he has a defenseless baby in his arms. Got it?"

"Get off of me." She replies with venom in her voice, pulling her arm from his grip. She does sit down on the couch again, though, which at least appeases the rest of them. Even Sadie settles down in Spinelli's hold.

Jason sighs. "Look. You can stay here for the night if you want, there's a guest room. Only if you don't start arguing again." He offers, because now he has a headache on top of wanting to go back to sleep and he can't see any reason why they can't wait until morning to yell at each other some more. "And we can talk about this more in the morning."

"Can I hold her for a little while?" Diana asks, and her eyes have been locked on her daughter for the most of the night.

Spinelli nods, and shifts the baby into her mother's arms. "Of course." He says, and he pulls Jason aside for a moment. "You go back to sleep. I'll come to bed once they're out."

Jason considers the potential for more arguing between family members for a moment. "Wake me up if the arguing starts again." He agrees and ruffles Spinelli's hair. "Night." A quick kiss and he's halfway up the stairs before all hell breaks loose.

"I knew it!" Casey declares, and whatever it is she had known does not sound like good news. She's standing again, pointing an accusing finger at her son. "I knew there was something suspicious going on here!"

From the landing, Jason watches, frozen in place as the woman who gave birth to the love of his life turns on her child. He watches Spinelli's face fall and he can only think that all of the times Sonny picked on him, they were absolutely nothing compared to the way Spinelli looks right now. Hands shoved deep into his pockets, eyes fixed on the floor, looking as if he'd very much appreciate it if it would just open up and make him disappear. His mother is on one hell of a hateful tirade. There's an abundance of words like 'faggot' and 'queer' and all sorts of things that make Jason wonder how humanity has actually survived this long with such closed minded people running about.

"Always knew you were." She says in what is almost a singsong type of voice, coupled with a kind of unnerving cackle. Diana is standing by the couch holding a very distressed Sadie, and everything is insane, and Spinelli looks like he's about to fall apart.

"Enough." Jason orders, stepping in front of his lover once again.

Casey laughs at him. "I'm not taking orders from the man fucking the kid who used to be my son." She throws her hands up in exasperation.

Jason really, really wishes she knew what he did for a living, maybe then she would think twice about even considering insulting Spinelli. He knows that if Sonny had pulled a stunt like this, it probably would have gotten him killed. The only thing saving her is the fact that her blood is in Spinelli's veins. And her blood is in Sadie's veins. And he wouldn't, he can't, do that.

"Get out." He says, a note of finality in his voice that actually shuts her up. "Now. Or I'll drag you out of here myself."

Begrudgingly, she steps toward the door. "I'm going to get a lawyer and I'll make sure you never see my granddaughter again." She says, as Jason slams the door in her face.

Diana is still inside, looking small and quiet where she stands holding Sadie. "Ugh, is it okay if I stay? I… I don't care about any of that."

Another door slams and suddenly Spinelli is nowhere in sight. Upstairs, Jason thinks. He ran upstairs. "Ugh, yeah. You can stay. I'm going to need to take her for a little while though." Nothing cheers Spinelli up like Sadie does.

Spinelli's sister nods in understanding and passes the baby back to Jason. "Ugh, the guest room?"

He leads her upstairs and they part ways at the first door on the right before Jason continues on to his and Spinelli's room at the end of the hall. The doors locked. "Hey, come on." He knocks. Nothing. "Spinelli, lemme in. Sadie's here to see you, too."

The click of the door unlocking sounds and Jason enters, finding Spinelli already halfway back to the bed. He proceeds to just kind of collapse face first on it, and he can hear sniffling coming from his lover. "Did she leave?" Spinelli asks, voice strained and cracking slightly when he speaks.

"Yeah." Jason answers simply as he sits on the bed beside his rather distraught lover. Spinelli doesn't move to curl up against him like he always does and he knows then that this is even worse than it looks. He sets Sadie down between them, the sleepy baby's eyes drift shut nearly immediately. "Come here." He says, with a tug to Spinelli's t-shirt.

Another sniffle, and Spinelli's still not moving.

Jason leans down and presses a kiss to the back of Spinelli's neck. The hand that had previously been tugging on his shirt slides beneath the thin material to rub soothing circles on the younger's back. "What she said…"

"Is just the same as the countless other ignorant and hurtful things she has said over the years concerning that which she does not agree with. But this was..." He swallows what Jason can only assume are more tears, and sits up. He wipes his arm over his eyes and suddenly there is a just-shy-of-twenty-five year old wrapped up in his arms as opposed to the five month old previous inhabiting them. Arms curled around Jason neck, face buried against his neck. "A compilation of several of the most damaging insults she could have possibly used. More severe than any she has previously employed."

For the handful of years they've been together, no one has dared to say anything outright negative about their relationship. Sure, there have been a few strangers here and there who'd commented a little louder than strictly necessary, and a couple of rival mobster's who'd try to provoke attacks with some choice words, but no one who mattered had seemed bothered by the concept of Jason and Spinelli. Casey was the first all out attack they'd had to face, and damn it all if Jason was letting her words decimate the best relationship he'd ever had.

Jason falls backward against the pillows with careful maneuvering – as he has certainly not forgotten about Sadie sleeping soundly beside them. In lying down, Spinelli comes with him, snuggled up against his side like he always is, and he knows that's at least calmed Spinelli down a little. "There's no excuse for it." His fingers run absently through his lover's hair as he talks. "You… you know what you mean to me, and you know that you've been my best friend for years now. I know you're amazing and caring and one of the most giving people I've ever known and anyone who can look past all of that just because you happen to come home with me at the end of the day…" He struggles to find the right words to end that thought. He's not the walking thesaurus that his lover is, and aside from a select few people, talking is not one of his strong points. "Then it's their loss." And, yeah, it's a little bit cliché, but Spinelli looks a little less caved in on himself because of it.

The sound of footsteps in the hallway draw Spinelli's attention away from Jason, and he half rolls over to look at the closed door of their room as if it is proposing entrance for the root of all evil. "What was that?"

"Diana, probably." Jason answers with a shrug, given that the footsteps sounded from the direction of the bathroom. "She's staying the night."

Spinelli nods, and answers with a quiet "Oh." He feels bad about hiding out in his room, but after the verbal blows he took from their mother, he doesn't think he can talk with her just yet. Not to mention now the fear of losing Sadie is all too real.

Jason reads the distress on his face and uses the hand that is not resting easily on Spinelli's hip to nudge his chin so they're eyes lock. "You okay?"

"What if she makes good on her threat against us, Stone Cold?" Spinelli inquires. "We are not Sadie's parents. They can take her from us without much of a fight."

"I'm not gonna let that happen." Jason says with so much conviction behind it that Spinelli is compelled to believe him.

Spinelli reaches out and lifts the sleepy infant onto Jason's chest, where she moves about and kicks for a moment before she falls back to sleep nearly the second her tiny fist curls up in the material of Jason's shirt. "Princess Sadie does not deserve the same childhood that Diana and I had."

With Spinelli wrapped against his side and Sadie resting on his chest, Jason doesn't think this could get any better. "We'll talk to Diana about it, okay? And I'll call Diane to help us, too. Do whatever we need to. But, whatever happens, I won't let your mom get her. In the fifteen minutes she was here she tried to hit you and nearly hit Sadie in the process. And she verbally attacked you and Diana."

"And you as well, Stone Cold. I was not the only target in her angry tirade against all things homoerotic." The younger points out. Jason hadn't even registered that he had been attacked in the verbal pitch-forking as well, having been too focused on Spinelli.

They lay in a comfortable silence for a few moments, just relaxing after the hectic insanity of the last half hour.

Spinelli finally breaks it when he reluctantly sits up. "I should take Sadie back to her room."

Jason nods as Spinelli wrangles the infant into his arms once more and watches as he walks through the door.

Only… a few moments pass and Spinelli doesn't return. Jason smiles. He's not worried. He's done this before. When Sadie had a bad cold for a few days, a fever, a cough. Her doctor had given them medicine and told them what to look out for, but otherwise it had been mostly a waiting game. Spinelli had hardly left the pink room the whole time she was sick.

He grabs a pillow and a blanket from the bed and makes his own way down the hall, knocking on the door to Sadie's room. "Care for some company?"

The door opens, and a sheepish looking Spinelli is standing in front of him. "Just… you know, in case she comes back."

"Yeah." Jason agrees and closes the door once he's entered the room. They lie on the floor, Jason using the pillow and Spinelli's head on Jason's chest, the blanket strewn over them. If anyone tries to open the door, Jason will probably feel it more than he'll see it, but he's okay with that because they can see Sadie sleeping soundly and safely through the bars in her crib from their spot.

***

Just a few hours later, Diane is sitting across from Jason and Spinelli in the back of the recently rebuilt coffee shop, with Sadie in her carrier on the desk between them. Diana is in the main part of the shop enjoying a cup of coffee.

"The question is: How far are you two willing to go to pull this off?"

Her two clients exchange glances, before replying nearly simultaneously. Once Spinelli-speak is subtracted out both answers equate to "As far as it takes."

She nods. "Okay, then." A sigh. "Not the easiest thing you've ever asked of me. Not the hardest either." Diane amends, when thoughts of the FBI and mysteriously disappearing charges of treason come to mind. "I can easily make a case for you. Financially stable. About as committed as you can get for now. The baby's mother has left her in your care for five months and in fact abandoned her child at the hospital. And with what Jason told me about over the phone regarding last night's events, I'd say you have a chance at this." She's more musing aloud than actually telling them anything they don't already know, but they're still listening intently. "The only thing working against you would be your criminal history. I don't suppose you'd be willing to find a more... legitimate... line of work?"

That is the one thing Jason is hesitant to do. Without someone in charge, even when it's calm like it has been lately, if he leaves, there would be a war over his territory and it would be just as unsafe on the streets of Port Charles. Not to mention that just because you're out of the business, it does not mean you are no longer a target. Sonny was proof enough of that.

"There's always Jackal & Stone: Private Investigators." Spinelli suggests helpfully, spotting the turmoil over the decision written all over Jason's face.

Jason shrugs. "I'll work on getting out from under the business and finding a replacement." He promises. And that's really all he can do for now.

"Alright. More than I expected." Diane acquiesces. "I'll start working on the paperwork to legally adopt her. I would suggest trying to get your sister on board, Mr. Spinelli. "

And that's all they can do for now: try. But, at least they've put the process into motion.


	6. Part 3: I June 10, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy! **Okay, hey, guys, I know not all of you are up for the intense JaSpin stuff, which this chapter does contain, but where that starts the chapter could, theoretically, stop. So, if you don't want to read that part, you can stop where I broke the chapter and you'll be fine, both sanity wise and plot wise. Kay? Kay. Consider this your warning.**_

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**-PART 3: Chapter 1/2-**

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**_June 10, 2012_**

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Weeks pass in slow succession. Not like the blur they'd been before they thought their future with Sadie was at risk. At just over six months old now, Sadie has doubled her birth weight, she can sit up on her own, and, while she's still refining some of the motor skills required to get her hands on some of her toys, the green octopus still remains an ever present fixture. She naps a little bit less, and eats a little bit less, but both Ruby - still on speed dial - and their doctor explain that it's normal.

Diana made the return to Tennessee with her mother just days after Jason and Spinelli had confronted her over permanently turning over her parental rights to them. She didn't say yes but she didn't say no either. Spinelli suspects that their mother got to her first.

Her unanswered part in their attempt to gain custody of Sadie leaves them in a state of limbo for the time being, and Diane is doing all she can to move things along from her end.

Since Jason and Spinelli have been planning and working on securing Sadie's future with them they haven't had much time for themselves. They don't mind, of course, because it's Sadie, and she has both of them thoroughly wrapped around her tiny little fingers, but Maxie has been insisting that they go out for a night. Relax, she says.

And, after a week of pestering, they have finally relented.

"If you two are not down here in thirty seconds, I will get Max and Milo to drag you out of this building in whatever you happen to be wearing." The blonde threatens, bouncing a giggling six month old in her arms.

Jason comes down the steps first, dressed nicely as opposed to his typical jeans and t-shirt attire. Spinelli's only a few seconds behind him, looking equally stylish himself. "Where are we even going?" Spinelli inquires; because he and Jason have had exactly zero say in their plans for the evening. Maxie claims to have set everything up for them. Which… is only slightly terrifying.

"You'll know when you get there..." She informs them. Because they've also been forbidden to drive. Maxie has seen fit to let Max and Milo in on The Plan, capital letters and all, and they have been assigned to help out. Jason is not quite sure how she convinces his bodyguards to go along with schemes like this, but he doubts he will ever find out. All he hopes is that she does not teach Sadie how to do whatever it is that she does, because he has enough things to worry about.

She gestures to the desk by the door, where two pieces of plain black cloth sit. Makeshift blindfolds. "You have got to be kidding." Jason deadpans.

"And you will not know a moment sooner."

Spinelli takes it back. It's totally terrifying, he thinks. Maxie hands the baby to Spinelli and glares intently at Jason until he finally sighs in defeat. "Fine." She blindfolds him quickly and then does the same to Spinelli before reclaiming Baby Sadie.

"They're ready to go." She calls into the hallway, and Max and Milo appear at the door, trying not to laugh at their employer's current state.

"You take Spinelli." Max tells his younger brother, as he steers Jason out the door carefully. He's definitely not planning on walking his boss into a doorframe. He rather likes being alive.

Once Jason and Spinelli are wrangled downstairs and awkwardly maneuvered into the back of what they can only assume is an SUV, Max and Milo begin the mysterious drive to the equally mysterious location.

Jason leans over to whisper to Spinelli. "Did you have any idea she was planning this?"

Spinelli shakes his head before he recalls that Jason can't see him. "Negative, Stone Cold. The Fair Maximista's devious plot was a very well kept secret, evidently." His head rests against Jason shoulder for the remainder of the ride. Neither is sure how long it actually takes, because the concept of time is lost completely when one cannot see, it turns out.

The car finally stops, and Max and Milo exit the vehicle. Then the back doors of the SUV open and Maxie's two blindfolded victims are helped out of the car. "Can we see now?" Jason half growls.

"Not yet." Max answers, following direct orders from Maxie. They walk in what is presumably a back entrance of some sort to what is clearly a very popular building. "Reservation for 2 under Morgan?" Max says to someone Jason and Spinelli cannot see. Max goes on to explain that, yes, he can count to four, and that only their blindfolded captives are staying wherever they are. Another moment passes before they gratefully hear the words: "Go ahead."

Both men quickly untie their respective blindfolds, and they find themselves at the entrance of one of the biggest restaurants in New York.

"Right this way." The man Max was speaking to says, and he is evidently the one responsible for dealing with things like their rather ostentatious arrival. He leads his two stunned followers to a table toward the back of the room and returns to his previous locale.

All around them are stars and famous people. Jason decides he doesn't want to know how Maxie pulled off getting them reservations here, either.

"I suspect Maximista the Magnificent has been planning this elaborate set-up for quite some time now." Spinelli observes. And he looks suitably impressed and very much star-struck by the atmosphere.

Jason nods his agreement and suddenly a young woman dressed nicer than they are appears beside their table. "Something to drink, sirs?" She comes prepared with several various bottles of fine wine for them to choose from, which Jason does.

"No orange soda here." He whispers to Spinelli with a grin, as they clink their glasses together. They needed this.

The evening continues with the same kind of easy conversation. Compared to some of the people currently in the restaurant, they are hardly noticed and are left pretty much alone. The wine is good, as is the food, and once all is completed, they are informed that dessert has been sent up to their room.

"Room?" Jason inquires.

Their server nods, producing two key cards labeled with '1214' emblazoned on them identifying the room number, along with the hotel and restaurants name. "There's an elevator just down the hall." He informs them.

Jason and Spinelli exchange equally baffled looks and stand, heading for the aforementioned hallway. "She sure went all out for us, didn't she?"

"Startlingly so, it seems." The younger echoes, as they reach the elevator. Spinelli carefully depresses the button – he's learned his lessons about mashing elevator buttons by now – and they wait for but a moment before the car arrives. That in and of itself is somewhat breathtaking. The wall opposite them as they step in is some sort of one sided window that affords them a spectacular view of the city below them.

One of them has the sense of mind to press the button for the correct floor before they are entirely captivated.

"That's… that's astounding." Spinelli mumbles, just as the doors open again with a pronounced 'ding'. They are forced to tear their eyes away from the night skyline and begin the hunt for their room on the twelfth floor of the tall building.

Around a corner and down a hallway and Spinelli is the first to spot it. "Aha!" he declares, swiping his card key through the lock with Jason just behind him. "Wow."

The first thing they see is a large window that shares a view with that from the elevator. Tinted, so that you can only see out of it. The next thing that draws their attention is the king sized bed centered on another wall. On a desk by the door to the room are several courtesy parcels. One a bottle of wine, in another, a selection of oils and lotions on either side of a silver tray that is probably the dessert the server downstairs mentioned.

"Would Stone Cold be at all interested in skipping dessert?" Spinelli suggests with an equally suggestive grin and a look toward the rather inviting bed.

***

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**OKAY, IF READING M/M SEX STUFF SQUICKS YOU OUT AT ALL, STOP READING HERE, YOU WON'T MISS ANYTHING PLOT RELATED, I PROMISE. **

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"You have to ask?" The elder replies, shifting closer to his lover, his chest pressed to Spinelli's back. Skilled fingers work at the buttons of Spinelli's button down shirt, slowly revealing bits of skin that Jason feels like he hasn't seen like this in forever. His lips attach to the back of Spinelli's neck, and Spinelli leans back into his touch. Jason peels the shirt from his lover's shoulders slowly, tossing it aside and walking them toward the bed that takes up a large portion of the room.

Before they reach it though, Jason pauses long enough to retrieve something from his back pocket. Spinelli doesn't catch sight of whatever it is, but then a moment later, he's not catching sight of much of anything. One of the blindfolds from their trip to the hotel covers the younger's eyes as Jason ties it securely in place.

"What-?" Spinelli starts to inquire, but then Jason's hands land on his shoulders and guide him the last foot or so to the bed.

"Just go with me on this, okay?" Jason prompts, whispering the words into Spinelli's ear as he sucks and nips at a spot just under it that always makes Spinelli shiver.

And, if there's anyone in the world Spinelli trusts, it's Jason. So he nods in agreement. This could certainly prove to be an interesting experience.

They're both on the bed now, and upon seeing Spinelli's agreement, Jason's hand lands on his chest. "Lay down," he instructs and Spinelli easily complies, falling backwards into the mass of pillows. "Roll over."

"Woof." Spinelli laughs, but again does as told. "What are you up to, Stone Cold?" He asks, as he feels Jason knock several of the pillows away.

Jason is quiet as he moves, though, and he ends up straddling the younger man's hips, a bottle of lotion swiped from the desk in one hand. "Trust me." Jason repeats, as he warms some of the liquid on his hands. A moment later, Jason presses his palms down on either side of Spinelli's spine and they slowly work their way up to his shoulders.

"You're really quite talented at that." Spinelli comments, as the tension begins to melt away with the familiar touch on his skin. It's not the first time Jason has given him a massage, but it has been a while and Spinelli had forgotten how good it feels. "Mrrr…." He purrs in contentment, as Jason adds a bit of pressure to work at the knots wound in Spinelli's shoulders.

He presses a kiss to the top of his lover's spine as his fingers work practiced magic over tense muscle and slowly go through the process of turning Spinelli into putty in his hands. Starting with neck and shoulder and arms, he slowly works his way down to the top of the very tight, very professional looking black jeans Maxie selected for him.

"Lift up." Jason says, as he traces sensual kisses down Spinelli's spine.

"The Jackal cannot currently comply with your request."

"And why is that?"

Spinelli purrs again. "Because nothing is listening to me at the moment." He lifts an arm, dramatically letting it fall back to the bed. "See?"

"I guess I'll have to get creative then." Jason decides, and climbs off of Spinelli. Given that the younger is still blindfolded, and Jason is no longer touching him, he's curious to know what's coming next. Which is clearly the appeal of the blindfold in the first place. The anticipation, he realizes. He's getting turned on and Jason isn't even touching him.

"Stone Cold?" He calls out, when what feels like forever passes in what is probably only about five seconds.

"Right here." Comes the response, the voice hovering over him just as before. Just… not touching him. Warm breath against his neck makes him shudder and squirm, but then it retreats just as quickly as it arrived. More anticipation, he realizes. Jason's playing with him. A light trail of finger's down his side. Another shudder and a moan. A barely there touch of lips on his back again. Spinelli squirms and tries to press into the mattress to get some relief. It goes on for several moments, Jason's game of cat and mouse, as he moves with fleeting touches, and it is driving Spinelli totally insane.

Spinelli moans again and lifts his hips as Jason previously requested, and really it's a wonder he can still think coherently enough to remember that.

A hand snakes between his body and the bed and works skillfully at the button of the tight jeans, tugs the zipper down a second later.

"You're trying to kill me." Spinelli half laughs, half moans, when Jason's palm brushes over him as he goes about tugging his jeans and boxers down his legs, pulling shoes and socks off as well.

Jason tosses the hindering clothing aside and returns his attention to his lover. "Hardly." He counters, and trails his fingers lightly down the length of one leg and back up the other to further illustrate his point.

Being blindfolded makes Spinelli even more aware of what is coming next when he makes out the faint sound of the bottle of lotion clicking open once more. He gasps when a slick finger probes against him, slowly sliding inside. It's been a long time since they've done this and Jason clearly intends to take it slow and draw this particular brand of torture out for as long as possible.

"Okay?" Jason asks, leaning down to brush his lips over the small of Spinelli's back.

"Most assuredly." Spinelli verifies.

Jason's free hand is continuing with the sensual massage as he traces his fingers along the insides of Spinelli's thighs. That one is less about tension and more about location and every time he gets close, it makes the younger man shiver in anticipation.

Before Spinelli even realizes it, a second finger is joining the first inside him. The stretch burns a little more than usual since it's been so long, but the subtle pain is forgotten the second Jason curls his fingers just right. "Been too long, Stone Cold." He moans, lifting his hips in hopes of getting his lover to repeat the motion which he does a second later.

"I know." Jason agrees, his other hand settling on Spinelli's hip to keep him still as a third finger delves in slowly. Another long moment of preparation and Jason removes his fingers, and disappears for a brief second before he settles between his lover's legs again, this time all skin on skin.

Spinelli is only dimly aware of the sound of the bottle of lotion opening again, as Jason's warm breath on his neck is suitably distracting. His brain conjures up helpful images of what Jason is doing with the lotion, slicking himself before he climbs over him once more.

A hand curls around his hips, pulling him up so that he's more or less kneeling on the bed in front of Jason. "Ready?" The elder asks. With Jason's strong arms curled around his torso, and his back pressing against the elder's chest, he manages a nod, and Jason presses into him.

He whimpers slightly at the twinge of pain that comes as a result of the added stretching, but Jason goes slow and lets him adjust to the long missed feeling of being filled. "Go ahead." Spinelli prompts after a moment, as he tilts his head back to rest on Jason's shoulder. Lips attach to his well exposed neck sucking sensitive skin into Jason's warm mouth and leaving a nice possessive mark in its wake as the elder begins to move in shallow rhythmic thrusts. A couple of brushes against Spinelli's prostate and the other man begins pushing back against Jason to meet each of his forward movements. "Mrngh." Spinelli groans in contentment when the pace picks up a little and one of Jason's hands begins to wander down his chest.

By the time Jason's hand finally curls around him, Spinelli is simply aching and his hips buck wildly into the touch.

"Enough teasing, Stone Cold." He pants, a pleading tone in his voice that Jason simply cannot ignore. Even just the simplest thing Jason does to him like this seem even more erotic given that one of his senses has been taken away.

"Alright." Jason answers, and his hand moves in time with his well-aimed thrusting. He makes a target of the sensitive spot just under Spinelli's ear once again, presses a wet kiss there and then blows cool air onto it.

Spinelli shudders and squirms against him, and lets out something between a whimper and moan when Jason nips at his neck some more. "Most definitely trying to kill me." He repeats, and then he's gasping out a torrent of 'Stone Cold's and 'more's and various other Jackal-like expletives when Jason twists his wrist just the right way to send him careening over the edge.

With ribbons of white painted over Jason's hand and Spinelli's stomach, Jason drives forward through a handful more of erratic thrusts before he follows suit, tensing with his own release as he groans. "Spinelli…" He breathes, his head falling forward to rest on his lover's shoulder.

Feeling filled in a way he hasn't in months, and now overwhelmed with the need to see Jason and not just the dark blackness afforded him by the blindfold, a hand comes up to tug at the loose knot at the back of his head, but full coordination is not a concept his overwhelmed body is ready to deal with yet.

Jason bats his hand away and undoes the tie easily enough; trailing a hand through the younger's brown hair as he pulls it away. He pulls out, and Spinelli turns around to face him, his hands landing on Jason's chest. "Was… the blindfold…?"

"The blindfold had quite an effect on the rather torturous massage methods you employed." Spinelli answers, with a grin.

Jason's matches it. "Thought you'd like that."

Spinelli nods, his gaze locked on the ice blues eyes watching his every move. "Oh, the Jackal most certainly did. But do you know what they say about revenge, Stone Cold?" He tugs the black cloth from Jason's hand, and Jason immediately recognizes the devious look in his lover's eyes.

He doesn't protest when Spinelli reaches for his hand, deceptively lacing their fingers together, nor does he argue when Spinelli moves behind him to capture both of his arms behind his back. "Normally when my hands are like that, it means I'm getting arrested, so this is a nice change of pace." Jason comments, experimentally testing the movement the cloth allows him once Spinelli has tied him securely.

"Well, if your master plan to get out of from under the ever persistent thumb of mob life is effective, then hopefully this will be the only situation in which even makeshift handcuffs are necessary." Spinelli tells him. "Now lay down. The Jackal has revenge to enact."

Jason laughs, and falls forward against the mattress. "Anything else?"

"Over." Spinelli adds. He complies with that, as well, his arms now pinned behind his back. Spinelli climbs on top of him, straddling his legs. He eyes the expanse of well defined, bare flesh before him and leans forward to kiss his lover for a long moment before he shifts his focus to Jason's neck and collarbone, leaving marks of his own as he goes. "Are you okay with this?" Spinelli asks in all seriousness.

They've never really done anything like this before, really. Not the blindfolds or the tying. But, it certainly has its appeals. Given Spinelli's reactions to Jason's games, a situation that has thoroughly reversed itself, it seems like something they might have to do again sometime in the future. "Yeah." Jason agrees. He trusts Spinelli with his life, being tied up like this is virtually nothing compared to that.

With the affirmative reply he received, Spinelli continues his path down Jason's chest. He uses Jason's trick of blowing cool air on wet skin, and it has much the same effect on Jason as it does on him. A shudder and a moan. And Spinelli loves every sound he manages to draw out of the usually quiet man. He dips his tongue into Jason's navel and is surprised by the buck he gets in reply.

"When did you turn into such a tease?" The elder asks, squirming against the hold the blindfold has on his hands.

Spinelli's mouth curls into yet another wicked grin as he moves down a bit more to take Jason into his mouth. The elder is nearly hard again, already, and Spinelli coaxes him on, using all the tricks he's learned that his lover quite enjoys. The lazy drag of his palm over the base, his lips slipping over the heated flesh coated in saliva and pre-come. He flicks his tongue against the slit at the organ's head and pulls away before Jason gets too close to the edge.

"Who's trying to kill who now?" Jason groans, and what he would not give to be able to curl his fingers into the tempting mop of fine brown hair before him.

Spinelli's throat tightens and hums in response as it closes around him once more. "Ngggh…" Comes the cyber hacker's intentionally muted reply.

What ultimately causes Jason's undoing is the feel of Spinelli tensing over him, and the feel of the younger man's release splattering over his leg. That fact that he can so thoroughly affect his lover without even touching him astounds him, and more relevant to the situation, that knowledge turns him on.

Jason comes with an audible gasp and groan as he fights against his binds once more, and Spinelli swallows before slowly moving his way back up to Jason's eye level, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Jason leans forward to kiss it away.

Spinelli sighs against his neck, pressing lazy kisses along his collarbone as they lay there recovering. "I love you…" Spinelli whispers against Jason's ear.

Jason rolls to his side so Spinelli can release the tie and the second he's free, his arms immediately curl around the younger's lithe frame. "Love you, too." He replies softly, a hand settling on Spinelli's chest as the need to rest becomes too overwhelming for either man to ignore.


	7. Part 3: II June 11, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy! _

* * *

**-PART 3: Chapter 2/2-**

* * *

**_June 11, 2012_**

What seems like seconds after their eyes finally close, the sound of Spinelli's ringing cell phone shatters the silence of the room. Spinelli ends up crawling half off the bed to reach for his jeans to retrieve his cell, and flops back down beside Jason before he flips it open. 'Maximista' announces the caller ID. "Tis I, the Jackal."

"_Put me on speaker phone."_ Maxie answers, by way of greeting, and he can hear Sadie cooing and babbling in the background once he presses the correct button.

"What's going on?" Jason asks, a hint of panic in his voice.

"_Listen, Sadie. Listen, it's your daddies._" Maxie says, and her voice is quieter, like she's holding the phone away from herself. "_Say something, guys._"

"What's going on?" Jason repeats, a little less worried because Maxie is clearly not that interested in talking to them.

"Is everything alright back at Casa De Stone Cold?" Spinelli asks.

"…Nnnn… Dada!"

Jason and Spinelli stare at the phone in awe for a moment, and then turn their gazes on each other. "Did she just...?" Jason asks, ice blue eyes shifting back toward the phone sitting in Spinelli's hand.

"Affirmative." Spinelli nods, and like the first time he saw the little baby he turns into his insane giddy self. "Sadie Baby…" He croons into the cell phone, and she giggles in response.

"_Dada!" _She repeats.

"When did this start, Maxie?" Jason inquires, and he hears Sadie say it again.

She hits a button, presumably turning her phone off of speaker. "_Just a little while ago when I got up to feed her. She kept looking at the door. I may or may not have been baby-talking to her and then she just said it._" Maxie explains. "_And I thought you'd want to know._"

"We missed it." Spinelli realizes suddenly, his head falling back against pillows that survived their earlier games. "We missed her first word, Stone Cold."

Jason's hand lands on his chest. "Hey, it's okay." He returns his attention to the cell phone. "Can you get the video camera out of the desk and get her to say it again, so it can be catalogued on Spinelli's tape of firsts?" He requests, and he can already hear her moving about.

"_Of course._" Maxie answers. "_And I'll call if anything else comes up. Just enjoy the rest of your night._"

"Alright. We will." The elder replies, and Maxie puts them back on speaker once more to say goodbye, earning another excited 'Dada!' from Sadie before they end the call.

But, Spinelli is still sulking. "We missed it." He repeats, as he sets his phone on the bedside table.

"Last time I checked even you didn't have the video camera out for every four a.m. feeding." Jason reminds him, though he wouldn't have been surprised. "There's no way you would have gotten it on tape if it happened at the same time."

"I know." He pouts, and Jason leans closer to press languid kisses against Spinelli's neck and shoulder, which the younger man eagerly leans into. "But one of us surely would have been conscious to witness such a spectacular event, and just a brief moment later, whichever one of us hadn't would have been able to. Whereas, we cannot simply run downstairs and behold the major milestone that her first words represent."

Jason has to agree with that, although he certainly doesn't regret getting to have some time alone with Spinelli. He knows that's not what Spinelli means, though. "Let's just stay here a little while longer, okay? Then we'll go home and we can hear Sadie say 'Dada' as many times as we can." He suggests. "We'll leave as soon as the sun comes up, if you want."

Spinelli smiles and shifts closer to Jason. "I think a little later than sunrise will be fine." He muses with a yawn. Another kiss pressed to Jason's lips and he resigns himself to a few more hours of sleep.

***

"What now?" Jason mumbles, when the phone rings again just two hours later.

Spinelli fumbles for his phone again. "If Baby Sadie has suddenly learned how to walk, or speak in full sentences, or hack, the Jackal will not be amused." And, again, the caller ID displays Maxie's nickname.

Before he has time to question Maxie, she is in full hysterics. The phone remains on speaker, so they both hear the words coming out of her mouth. "_Sadie's gone!_" Maxie declares in a state of absolute panic.

That gets Jason and Spinelli moving. They're both scrambling for discarded clothing even as Jason demands further information. "What do you mean, she's gone?"

Sniffling comes from the other end of the line. Crying. Not good. "_I… this big huge guy, I've never seen him before, came bursting in. He hit me over the head with something… and I guess then he grabbed Sadie, but he was gone when Max woke me up. And, God, I'm so sorry…"_

"Are you okay?" Spinelli asks, because as much as he's concerned for Sadie, he doesn't want Maxie hurt, either. They're both pulling on shirts now, already having hopped into boxers and pants, and heading for the door.

"_Don't worry about me. You need to find Sadie!_" Maxie demands. "_Was this mob guys, Jason?_"

"I don't think so." He replies, solemnly, as they impatiently wait for the elevator to arrive. When it does, the view is none of their concern, except for reminding them of the distance back to Port Charles. Mob guys would probably have either killed or taken Maxie with them. And besides, as far as he knows, there hasn't been much in the way of new blood around. But perhaps the lack of chatter should have been a clue. Now he's not so sure. "Call Max and Milo, get them over there with you."

"_We're already here, boss. They took down Milo, too."_ Comes another voice over the line. "_I was on the other side of the building. By the time I found Milo, they were already gone._"

Jason growls, as he punches the button for the ground floor impatiently. "Damn it. Have Cody meet us there and tell him to start checking with all known associates for any information." He'd do it himself, but Cody is his intended replacement and he's going to have his hands full with trying to get them back to Port Charles without getting them killed or pulled over.

Spinelli is a near catatonic mess by the time they find the car meant for them to return in sitting in the parking lot. Max and Milo must have left in another car, because the SUV is still present. "She's gone…" He mumbles, every once in a while, but is otherwise silent. And by the time Jason gets them on the road he's just as worried about Spinelli as he is about Sadie.

Against his better judgment and his need to get home as soon as possible, he pulls over. "Spinelli."

Nothing.

"Spinelli."

Still nothing in response.

Jason is really starting to panic himself now. His reaches out and shakes Spinelli's shoulder lightly before his hand trails up into Spinelli's hair, and then Jason is pulling him close. That seems to work. "Spinelli," he says again and that is evidently enough to crack through the wall.

"She did this." Spinelli mutters, through an onslaught of rapidly appearing tears. "It had to have been her."

"Casey?" Jason asks because somehow the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. But that makes more sense than a stealthily carried out mob conspiracy does.

Spinelli nods against his shirt, which is already damp with tears. "Indeed. Diana probably refused to demand Sadie be returned to her." A sniffle. "And she probably took matters into her own hands."

He has a point, Jason realizes, as he pets Spinelli's hair to calm him. "We'll find her, okay? I promise you that we'll find her. But we need to get back home."

The younger nods again and untangles himself enough to allow Jason to be able to drive. The rest of the drive is made in silence and when the building finally comes into view, Spinelli looks away. 122 Harbor View Towers. It's never felt less like home.

Cody is waiting by the entrance for them. Jason throws the car into park and Spinelli is headed for him by the time Jason even gets the door open. "I had Max take Milo and Maxie to the hospital to get checked out. She said she'd call the Commissioner once they got there." Cody tells Jason, as Spinelli blows past them and towards the elevator.

He presses the button and bounces impatiently for a moment before he gives up and takes off for the stairs. Spinelli is just reaching the door to penthouse number two when Jason and Cody reach the floor. "Wait." Jason demands, a hand catching Spinelli's arm before he can go barging in. "Did Max clear it?"

"He did, I did, no one's there." Cody verifies, but Jason slips into the room first anyway.

Nothing looks out of place except for the pile of toys on the floor, neon green octopus included. Spinelli falls apart all over again upon seeing that. "Stone Cold…" He motions toward Sadie's favorite toy.

Jason curls an arm around him and Spinelli falls to his knees, bringing Jason down with him. "We'll find her." He repeats what he said in the car.

Spinelli spots his laptop sitting on the desk, right where he left it. And he's glad this heartless thug was not of the search and destroy type. He sniffs and climbs away from Jason, opening his portal into cyberspace and waiting anxiously for it to boot up.

"What are you doing?" Jason asks, standing behind him, Cody on his other side.

"If the Jackal can hack into his mother's bank account, then we will be able to tell if she was indeed behind this cruel act." He types in his password and loads his internet browser and sets to work jackaling the information he needs.

"You don't think this was mob related, then?" Cody asks, having not been told otherwise.

Jason motions to Spinelli. "We'll see."

Just a few moments later, the Jackal has successfully hacked into their required information. "There are no overly suspicious transfers from Casey Spinelli's account, but there was a one hundred thousand dollar sum deposited two weeks ago. It came from an offshore account belonging to…" A few more clicks offshore accounts usually prove pretty tricky. The new window appears proclaiming the new information, and Spinelli's eyes widen in confusion because the name doesn't belong to anyone he recognizes, not even as an alias. "A Miguel Conlon."

Jason rages in anger at the equally unfamiliar name, a fist flying to significantly dent the wall. "Did Conlon pay for the actual kidnapping, or did Casey?" He asks, because that is what he needs to know.

He's typing away again. "Ugh, there have been numerous small transfers from Casey's account," He won't call her Mom anymore, Jason's notices. "To the tune of nearly fifteen thousand total, all to the same account. Registered to an Eric Samuels, residing in New York."

"Samuels?" Cody echoes, biting his lip in thought as the name rings a bell. "Some of the guys saw someone down by the docks the other night named Samuels. They were convinced he was just looking for work, but…"

A knock at the door interrupts Cody from saying anything more. And surprisingly, it's Commissioner Scorpio as opposed to Lucky making the house call.

"Are Maximista and Milo in good health?" Spinelli inquires, as he minimizes his incriminating searches.

Mac fixes him with a glare. "They're both fine. Both with mild concussions and both back here." He turns his infuriated gaze onto the root of all of his problems. Jason Morgan. "When are you going to realize that your mob lifestyle hurts everyone around you? I'm sick of my daughter being in the middle of this all the time."

Jason motions the older man out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind them. "This wasn't anything to do with me." He explains, honestly, for once. He doesn't know what Miguel Conlon has to do with Casey or Sadie or Spinelli, but as far as he knows it's not mob-related.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when hell freezes over." The Commissioner scoffs. As if the mob ever does not have something to do with anything that occurs in their town.

"Spinelli's mother took Sadie from us because she found out that he and I are together. She didn't take it very well, lots of yelling, screaming. Granted, Sadie isn't ours yet, technically, but if anyone can relate to being a parent to children that aren't biologically yours, I figure it would be you." Jason fires back at the man who pretty much raised Robin, Maxie, and Georgie by himself.

Mac nods in agreement, with the good sense to look somewhat guilty for jumping to conclusions. "Sorry." He relents, still with a hint of hostility, but he does understand. "I'll get Lucky and everyone to start the search and put out an AMBER alert." A sigh, and he's grabbing his radio. "You have a description for me?"

Jason provides a description of Casey Spinelli and a photo of Sadie for Mac before he slips back into the Penthouse. Much to his concern, Spinelli is tugging on a jacket when he does. "Where are you planning on going?"

"With you. After Sadie." Spinelli replies, simply enough, as he slings his messenger bag over his shoulder.

"No, no, no." Jason shakes his head, and glares at Cody just in case he put this idea in Spinelli's head. "You're staying here."

Spinelli blocks the exit out the front door with no qualms at all about getting between Jason Morgan and an escape. "Sadie's mine, too, Stone Cold. You'll need me to go along, to track Casey's movements, if nothing else."

Jason sighs in defeat, knowing from the start that this was an argument he wouldn't be winning. He's reeled further in when he spots a neon green object tucked in Spinelli's pocket. Sadie's octopus. "Alright. Come on." He sweeps an arm over Spinelli's shoulders, holding him close before they step out of the penthouse. He still has instructions for Cody. "Can you keep checking with contacts about Samuels and Conlon?"

Cody nods and is already on his cell phone by the time Jason and Spinelli reach the elevator.

"Where are we supposed to start?" Jason asks, because he knows Spinelli probably already searched as much as he could.

"There was activity on her credit card at one of the bus depots just outside of Port Charles. Fortunately for us, this Conlon character presumably did not tell her the rule about not using credit cards while on the run with kidnapped children." Spinelli rants, quite begrudgingly. "Did the Top Cop register an AMBER Alert for Princess Sadie?"

Jason nods, as they race back toward the SUV. "Yeah. I gave him one of the pictures you took last week and a description of Casey. He's sending both in."

Spinelli is visibly relieved to hear that. "Then there is a greater chance that she will be apprehended before she boards any buses." They're in the car now, and Spinelli is gripping Jason's hand for dear life as he speeds off in the direction of the bus depot Spinelli goes on to tell him about.

It takes them nearly forty five minutes to get to the place. They hit every red light along the way, of course, and end up behind any and all slow drivers on the road. And by the time Jason finally swings the car into the depot's lot, Spinelli is nearing catatonia again. Jason pulls him close for a second and kisses him quickly.

"Better keep that close." He gestures to the green octopus as they both clamber out of the vehicle.

Upon entering the crowded lobby whereupon a good hundred or two people are milling about, the couple splits up, searching through the crowds for signs of Sadie.

Three little kids all huddled together playing with some sort of portable video game system. No. Handful of teenagers milling about in one corner, probably up to no good. Negative. Jason spots a woman slightly reminiscent of Casey, but it turns out to be some innocuous older lady who very nearly takes his head off with her cane.

"You spot anyone?" Jason asks, when he joins up with Spinelli again.

A guy about Jason's age walks by with a squirming baby in his arms, but they disregard him quickly enough. They'd be able to pick Sadie out easily.

"Dada!"

"Did you…?" Spinelli inquires, upon hearing the same voice he had over the phone just a few hours ago. "Sadie!"

They split again, both calling out her name every couple of seconds. It's like a very messed up version of Marco Polo, but eventually Spinelli zeroes in on another squirming infant. This one wrapped up in blankets in a woman's arms. Casey.

He comes to a stop when he realizes he has no way of getting Sadie safely out of her grandmother's arms and into his own. "Sadie…" He whispers, so glad to see her even if she's not in his arms yet.

Jason appears beside him just seconds later, as do a handful of security officers stationed at the bus depot. "There a problem here?" One officer, Ryan Kelly, his ID badge reads, asks, looking between the people involved in whatever this is.

"Those two hooligans are after my grandbaby." Casey says, sounding offended enough to pass for someone who doesn't know them.

Officer Kelly glares intently at the two culprits and looks about ready to have his boys haul them away.

"She's ours. The baby is ours. Her name's Sadie. She was reported kidnapped about an hour ago by a Port Charles Police Officer. Mac Scorpio." Jason explains, and Spinelli is digging her neon green octopus out of his pocket. "He has her favorite toy."

Sadie's eyes light up, but she is being unhelpfully quiet. "Oooh." She squeaks, one hand reaching out, not fully coordinated enough to grab it effortlessly yet.

Casey, or whoever she is claiming to be, knocks it from Spinelli's hand before Sadie can grab it. "Nonsense. You can't prove that that's her favorite toy or any of the other lies you're spinning."

Jason nudges Spinelli, and whispers something to him. The officers around them don't seem to like that too much, but Jason stops as quickly as he started, and Spinelli talks this time. Only… he doesn't seem to really know what to say. "I ugh… her name is Sadie Morgan Spinelli. I picked it out. Sadie, because it's my sisters middle name. Morgan, because it's his last." He gestures to Jason. "I call her Princess Sadie a lot, because Sadie means Princess, and sometimes Baby Sadie, just bec-" He's cut off when little tiny arms reach out for him. "Oh, finally."

"Dada!" Sadie squeals with joy, reaching out for him as if suddenly realizing that they're there. "Dada! Dada! Dada!"

"And she called us Dada for the first time earlier today."

The various police officers seem quite inclined to believe them now, especially after one radio's in to check on recently issued AMBER alerts.

"_Yeah. Just got one in for a sixth month old. Female. Sadie Spinelli. Suspect is a brunette woman, Casey Spinelli. The kids grandmother. Don't tell me you found the kid already? Over._" Came the dispatcher's voice over the static filled radio.

"Ugh. Seems like they found us. Who's the baby supposed to be with? Because our supposed suspect is claiming it's her. Baby is screaming otherwise. Over." Officer Kelly reports in.

A static pause. "_Lemme call in to check. Over._" Another break in conversation, broken by another upset shout from Sadie and a stream of tears follows suit. "_A, ugh, Damian Spinelli or a Jason Morgan, according to the report. Over._"

Jason slowly pulls his wallet from his back pocket, as the cops around them are still wary of them, obviously. "My ID." He says, by way of explanation, as he passes the wallet to the nearest officer.

"Jason Morgan." The man reads, and passes it to Officer Kelly, who eyes it for a moment before returning it to its owner.

"And Damian Spinelli, I presume?" Kelly questions, looking to the other man.

Spinelli nods and produces his own ID, offering it to another officer who nods in confirmation.

With the law definitively on their side now, Jason and Spinelli are slightly more at ease. Not until Sadie is back in their arms, though, will they be completely relaxed.

"Ma'am." Officer Kelly says as his men move to surround her more thoroughly and Jason and Spinelli less. "You don't have anywhere to go, so just pass the baby to one of us and this can all go smoothly."

That statement seems to remind Casey that this does not all have to go smoothly. She holds Sadie tight, almost too tight, really. And everyone around her realizes that she's made her decision not to go quietly into police custody. "No," She shakes her head, glaring intently at Jason and Spinelli who stand right in front of her. "No, I won't let you take her."

Sadie's cries escalate to a new level of intensity, and one of her arms flails about wildly reaching out to them.

By now a small crowd has formed around them, made up of the other pedestrians milling about the crowded bus station. Officer Kelly is forced to give up a few of his men for purposes of controlling the gossiping mass of people. "Look, we don't want anyone to get hurt here."

"I'm not letting my granddaughter grow up with the likes of those two fags." Casey hisses, still clutching baby Sadie. She swats at the baby's extended arm to keep her that much closer. "She'd be better off dead than raised by my incompetent and irresponsible son. Not that I'd even consider him that anymore."

Various glances are had by all not directly involved between Jason and Spinelli and Casey and Sadie, mostly from the crowd, but a couple coming from security guards who had shown up late to the party. "Let's not get out of hand, here, alright?" Officer Kelly continues his ineffective negotiation. "Don't do anything irrational." He adds recognizing the hint of threat in the woman's words.

Jason and Spinelli, who have been observing with silent terror for the last few moments, have had about enough. "We have to do something." Spinelli whimpers, eyes locked onto the squirming bundle that is one very distressed Sadie.

Sadie is falling unnervingly silent now, probably because she can't breathe due to how forcefully she's being held.

"That's it."Jason whispers to Spinelli. Casey has turned her attention on the lead security guard as he tries and continues to fail at talking her down. "Get Sadie." He instructs, and nudges Spinelli forward a bit as Jason circles around to stand behind her before he drives forward and catches her.

Spinelli follows Jason's orders and moves forward as well, just as Jason makes his move. Sadie slides rather gracefully from Casey's arms into Spinelli's.

Only… one of Casey's hands darts out despite Jason's attempt to hold her back. Her extending fingers wrap around Sadie's little arm and twist, and there is an audible sickening crack.

Everything is silent and unmoving for the briefest of seconds until Sadie breaks out into the loudest cry either Jason or Spinelli has heard in the six months since she joined their family.

"Sadiesadiesadiesadie…" Spinelli repeats as he cradles her in his arms.

Jason passes a struggling and cursing and shouting Casey off to one of the officers, not even watching as she is handcuffed and led away. His focus is entirely on Spinelli and Sadie, and the fact that the poor little infants arm is very clearly broken. "Keep her still." Jason says, falling to his knees beside Spinelli. He runs a hand over Sadie's head but nothing stops the screaming.

"An ambulance is on the way." Officer Kelly tells them, but then returns to the chatter emitting constantly from his radio.

It seems like forever before the sirens are approaching. Probably just minutes, really, but with Sadie wailing in pain and Spinelli looking pretty much shattered from the inside out, and Jason just trying to keep everyone calm, it's much more like eternity.

But then two paramedics are trying to extricate Sadie from Spinelli's hold. "Sir, we need to take her." One medic says, but Spinelli is having none of it.

"I'll carry her." He protests, and the paramedics relent rather surprisingly. Spinelli and Jason follow the medics outside to the waiting ambulance, and they allow Spinelli to sit on the stretcher and keep hold of Sadie instead of resting her on the obtrusively large surface by herself. Jason, however, acquiesces to their instructions to sit on the bench beside the stretcher so they can work. "Her arm… Is she going to be okay?" Spinelli asks, voice faltering as he speaks.

One of the medics, David, the name on his shirt reads, seems slightly less concerned with little Sadie's arm and more so with the bruise revealed when he cut away the pink track suit-ish top thing Maxie must have dressed her in – Jason had been opposed to its purchase, _she's not going to be out jogging anytime soon_, he'd argued, but Spinelli had insisted and ultimately won out. "I'm worried about this." The medic states.

"She was being held like this," Jason speaks up, demonstrating Casey's grip on thin air. "And she got quiet for a minute before we got her away."

"Hmm." The medic observes, as he checks on the baby's heart rate. Slightly elevated, but kind of expected given the recent trauma and the break in her arm. "Double time, Tom." David calls up to the front of the ambulance, where his partner is already well on the way to the General Hospital.

Jason shifts closer, barely on the edge of the seat. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just concerned about her breathing. I mean, she seems okay for now, but she probably needs a chest x-ray." The paramedic explains. "Her arm, too, obviously."

Spinelli and Jason trade concerned looks, and Jason can read Spinelli all too easily now. He's nervous and tearing himself up inside and probably five thousand other things that he can't help with until they get a moment alone and know Sadie's okay. For now, he rests a hand reassuringly on Spinelli's shoulder and gives a light squeeze. "It'll be okay."

The hospital is unsurprisingly bustling with activity – as it always seems to be since the remodeling after that fire following the bio-toxin incident a while back. But, they are seen to quite promptly. Robin greets them by the door, looking quite unhappy about seeing so many friends in one day. First Maxie, now the trio of Jason, Spinelli, and Sadie.

"What's going on?" While news of the kidnapping had indeed spread throughout Port Charles faster than wildfire, most of the details were unknown. "Is Sadie okay?"

David the paramedic interrupts any answers the stressed out parents might have provided and begins a report on his patient's condition.

His assessment spurs Robin out of concerned friend mode and into serious doctor mode. "Let's get her up to Pediatrics." She says, and toward the elevators they all go.

Two hours later, after quite a bit of poking and prodding and x-raying, Sadie is sleeping as contentedly as possible for the moment against Jason's chest while Robin looks over the various images provided by the x-rays. "Well, I'm pleased to say her chest seems to be fine. No broken ribs, no pneumothorax. Her arm is definitely broken, though. We'll set that and give you some light pain meds for her." She explains, still surveying the multiple angles.

"Will she need to stay long?" Jason inquires. He just wants to get Sadie and Spinelli back home. His lover has been quiet ever since they'd climbed into the ambulance. They all just need to relax and remind themselves that this nightmarish panic of a day is over now, and Sadie is safely theirs again.

Robin shakes her head. "No, once we take care of her arm, you'll be able to go. If you see any changes or new symptoms, get her back here quickly, though." She insists, just as a new student nurse walk in with the casting materials. "On the plus side, the break was clean, so we don't have too much to worry about there. Baby bones are notoriously resilient."

The process begins, starting with a gauzy underlayer before the plaster is added to the mix. Just a few squirmy minutes and then the cast is done.

"Pink okay?" Robin asks, and Jason nods. And the procedure is ended with a pink wrap over the white plaster.

"Thanks." Jason says, and shifts Sadie in his arms. The poor baby is exhausted and her head lulls against Jason's chest the second it can.

"Just remember: I don't really want to see you guys from this perspective often, okay? Friendly Robin is fine. Doctor Robin, not so much." She tears off a prescription for a child friendly pain killer and tucks it in Jason's jacket pocket. "Now, go round up Spinelli and get home."

Jason smiles, because Robin has succeeded in making him feel better. That all comes crashing down when he spots Spinelli curled up in one of the awkward hospital chairs, with his head buried against his knees. He sighs. "Sadie, look." He prompts. "Who's that?"

The sleepy infant is understandably grumpy, but upon seeing Spinelli she smiles. "Dada!" Putting her one and only vocabulary word to use she squeaks and waves at him with her good left arm.

Spinelli looks up and untangles himself, crossing to stand in front of Jason and Sadie. "Hey Baby Sadie." He coos, and kisses her forehead. He doesn't accept when Jason tries to transfer her to his arms, though.

Jason's not quite sure what to make of that yet. "Ready to go home?" He asks, nonetheless.

"Affirmative." Spinelli replies, sounding as broken down and exhausted as he looks.

Minutes later they are at home once again, and well on their way to their floor when the elevator dings early. Maxie's standing in front of them, looking several kinds of miserable. "Oh, thank God. She's safe." The blonde exhales, and moves forward to hug Spinelli quickly. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I'm so sorry."

Jason's free hand lands on her shoulder. "Wasn't your fault." He says simply. "How's your head?"

"Fine." She answers. "They hit Milo a bit harder, though. He's crashed on the sofa inside if you wanna talk to him."

He shakes his head. "I'll talk to him later. Tell him to feel better, alright?"

Maxie smiles and backs away to let the elevator doors close. But Jason then realizes that Spinelli is nowhere in sight.

He hadn't even noticed Spinelli get off the elevator, but the stairwell doors are just swinging shut so he can guess where he's gone. "Your daddy's having a bit of a mental breakdown, it looks like." Jason tells a sleepy Sadie as the doors slide closed. She thunks her casted arm against his chest. "Don't worry. We'll fix him."

When he and Sadie finally do reach the proper floor, Spinelli is nowhere in sight, but two guys clad in blue FORENSIC windbreakers are waiting for the lift themselves. "Glad you guys got your kid back." One says, as he enters the elevator. "We cleared the scene and just let your roommate in."

"Thanks." Jason says as he slips quite hurriedly towards the door to Penthouse 2. A couple things are out of place and there seems to be excess fingerprint powder on a few surfaces, but otherwise the living room remains untouched. He knows where Spinelli will be, but he has to take care of Sadie first.

He makes up a bottle quickly in the kitchen, goes through the motions of feeding and burping a very sleepy Sadie, gives her a dose of her pain meds, and then he's heading for the stairs.

"Spinelli?" Jason prompts, as he pushes open the door to Sadie's room but finds nothing. Option two it is then.

Spinelli is lying face down on their bed once again, just like the night this whole mess started, when Jason enters the master bedroom.

"Spinelli." He repeats, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Slowly the younger man sits up, knees once again drawn up to his chest. "I'm sorry." He says simply, and Jason is baffled.

"For what?"

"Dada!" Sadie coos again, casted arm reaching out for Spinelli. Spinelli's eyes fall as a reaction.

"She wants you." Jason prods, prepared to turn the now squirmy and grumpy infant over. "I've been holding her all day; I think she's sick of me for a while."

Spinelli half-laughs at that. But still doesn't move to take Sadie. "I… I'm afraid I'll break her."

Jason's reaction is similar to that of a deer caught in headlights. "What?" He says, nearly frozen in place.

"I don't want to hurt her." He repeats, as he plays absently with his hands, not letting himself get near Sadie, as if touching her would shatter her into a million pieces.

"You're not going to break her." Jason insists, shifting Sadie in his arms so he can reach out to Spinelli who shies away from his touch, as well. "You didn't do anything wrong today, Spinelli. You understand that, right?"

"It was my fault. This was all my fault." Spinelli laments and the lack of Jackal-speak is really starting to worry Jason on top of everything else at this point.

Jason can't believe what he's hearing. "How was any of this chaos your fault, exactly?" He asks. He drops his hand and scoots closer to his retreating lover. "Because I can't wrap my head around why you think that."

"Because…" A long pause indicates that Spinelli has not previously thought of any well-thought out reasons to support his claim. "Because Casey was my mom." He finally says. Jason notes the past tense. "And maybe we should have been harder to find, or had more security, I don't know, but I know I'm supposed to look out for Sadie. And then I get her arm broken when I try to save her."

By now, Spinelli has scooted himself to the edge of the bed in his attempts to evade Jason and his comforting touch. And when Jason's hand lands on his leg, he pulls away again, causing himself to tumble backwards. With his knees hooked on the edge of the bed and the rest of him on the floor, it is a very ungraceful fall. "You okay?" Jason asks, concerned as he leans over the edge, with Sadie in his arms.

The baby giggles at Spinelli's predicament and once again tries to escape Jason's hold to get to him. "Dada!"

Using the opportunity presented by Spinelli's current position, Jason shifts to sit beside him on the floor, trapping the younger man in place with his free arm. Sadie is still squirming but he keeps her back until he's got Spinelli thinking clearly again. "What she did to Sadie, what she did to us in taking her. That's all on her. The other guys, too. I haven't forgotten about Conlon or Samuels." Jason adds, making a mental note to put a call in to Agent Raynor about those two, too. Just in case the federal agent can help them at all. "None of this is on you. Casey broke Sadie's arm. Not you. You've never, ever hurt Sadie."

Spinelli frowns, until he finds a very impatient six month old placed on his chest. "No, don't-" He cuts himself off when Sadie smiles at him and says her new favorite word over again. "Princess Sadie…" He sighs, defeated at least for now.

"Better?" Jason asks, as he leans down to kiss Spinelli softly.

The younger nods slowly, and gathers the contented Sadie into his arm so he can sit up. Jason's arm releases him and helps him up. "Much. Thanks." He replies, resting his head against Jason's shoulder. "This has just been one very long day, Stone Cold."

Jason contemplates their chances of being able to go to sleep uninterrupted now – they all certainly need it at this point – but he doubts Maxie will be the last one inquiring into Sadie's condition today. They still have to talk to Mac, and Jason does need to call Raynor, and call Diane as well. "We'll camp out in Sadie's room tonight." He promises for now. "Let's just relax for right now, though, okay?"

Spinelli nods and they head downstairs to the living room. Some of Sadie's toys are scattered about by the couch and Spinelli stops in his track when he sees them. "Stone Cold."

"Yeah?" Jason asks, across the room and reaching for the phone.

"The octopus." Spinelli pales. "We left it at the bus station…"

He's right, Jason realizes, after Casey knocked it out of Spinelli's hand, no one paid much attention to the neon green octopus. "We'll figure something out." Jason says, even if it means driving back to that dreaded place.

Spinelli nods, looking somewhat disheartened at the loss of the permanent fixture in Sadie's life. "Come on, Baby Sadie," He says nonetheless, setting her on the carpet where she'd been before.

Jason, distracted from his phone calls for the moment just watching them, makes himself useful by cleaning up the lingering fingerprint powder.

A knock at the door disturbs their quiet moment and Jason opens the door to Mac, who produces two things. One, a once-green, once-eight legged, and once-stuffed blob that Jason assumes was the very topic of his and Spinelli's previous discussion. The other is a pristine looking, slightly larger, brown and tan stuffed moose.

Jason accepts both.

"The officers who were at the bus station gave me that. It's… ugh, seen better days, I take it?" Mac explains. "After Georgie was kidnapped back when she was a baby someone gave her a moose kind of like that, so…"

"Thanks." Jason smiles, and steps aside to let the Commissioner in. "Ugh, here for follow up, right?"

Mac nods, and eyes Sadie's injury from across the room. "She okay?" He asks. Despite the differences he and Jason have had in the past, seeing children hurt is never a good thing and this is no exception, especially considering that there have been no connections to the mob.

"She has a broken arm, but she'll be okay."

"That's good." The older man says. "Casey Spinelli is in custody. And definitely not going anywhere. Diane Miller showed up to make sure of that."

It figures, Jason thinks, that she would have heard about it already. It was probably all over the news. He'll still need to call her later. "You have questions for us?"

"I need statements from both of you concerning what happened at the bus station." Mac says, pulling out an old fashioned notepad. "If now's a good time."

Jason shrugs. "As good a time as any." He agrees and he and Mac sit on the couch while Spinelli and Sadie remain on the floor. Jason tucks the ruined octopus into his pocket and offers Spinelli the moose with a half-amused laugh.

Mac leaves twenty minutes later with their full accounts of the chaos at the bus station and a promise to make sure she stays locked up as long as possible.

With a sigh, Jason closes the door behind him before he returns to Spinelli and Sadie. He sits beside them on the floor, and Spinelli's head rests against his shoulder as they watch Sadie play with her brand new moose stuffed animal.

"At least Mac's on our side for once." Jason says.

"His Commissionership is certainly an asset to the PCPD. Surely a more honorable force to be reckoned with than the DA of Darkness was." Spinelli agrees as Jason's arm curls around his side. "You think we can go to sleep soon?"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same-"

Spinelli's cell phone rings from where it sits on the desk, cutting Jason off. The younger man scrambles for it and the caller ID reads as number unknown. "Hello?" Spinelli greets somewhat hesitantly. He saves his normal introduction of 'Tis I, the Jackal.' for numbers his cell phone recognizes.

"_Damian! Are you okay? I just got a call from New York about Mom getting arrested! What's going on_?_ Is Sadie okay?_"

Jason sees Spinelli tense from across the room. He's scooping Sadie up and approaching the younger man in seconds.

"Diana," Spinelli says, both to calm his sister and to inform Jason of whose calling. "We're all… Okay. Mostly." He amends, when he catches sight of Sadie's pink arm again.

"_Mom really tried to kidnap Sadie?_" Diana asks with kind of an incredulous disbelief. "_I mean, I know she was… upset when she found out you and Jason were together, but I never thought she'd… I'm so sorry._"

Upset is the understatement of the century, but Spinelli lets that slide. "She paid some guy off to break in and take her while Stone Cold and I were out. They took out a guard and our friend Maxie in their vicious attempts." Spinelli explains the short version. "Casey broke Sadie's arm when we tried to get her back."

He hears Diana gasp on the other end of the line. "_Oh, God… I…I never thought she'd do something like that. Not in a million years._" Comes her quiet reply. "_Is there anything I can do?"_

There is one thing she could do that would help them, but Spinelli is unsure as to whether or not her refusal to sign the appropriate paperwork is her own doing or the convincing of their mother. "I don't suppose you would be at all inclined to fill out the files that would grant Stone Cold and I custody of Baby Sadie?" He prompts. Or, well, technically the papers only grant him custody. Once that's done, Diane has paperwork prepared so Jason can adopt her as well.

The hesitation that is his answer tells him it wasn't all Casey's doing. "_I… I don't know_." She answers. "_I'll call you back later, okay? I… need to think about some things for a while_." And Spinelli can accept that, so they hang up after exchanging brief goodbyes.

"She's not all for that plan yet, I take it?" Jason inquires, as he passes Sadie over. Spinelli frowns in response. "We'll work it out, okay?" Jason promises, leaning down to kiss Spinelli quickly. It's only five in the afternoon, but neither is particularly concerned with the time. They're all exhausted and sleep sounds like the first relaxing thing in a while. "I'll meet you in Sadie's room." He says and gives Spinelli a nudge toward the stairs.

He goes through his usual routine of checking locks and cleaning up toys and flicking off lights before he races to their room to grab a blanket and pillow before he heads to the pink room Spinelli once inhabited.

"It's your turn tonight, Stone Cold." Spinelli tells him, peering down at Sadie resting comfortably in her crib, her new stuffed moose nearby as well.

Jason stands beside him and grabs a book from the shelf nearby. One of various Dr. Seuss books someone gave them just after Sadie's arrival in Port Charles. He sighs and opens to the first page of 'The Digging-est Dog.'

"_I was the saddest dog you could ever see. Sad because no one wanted me. The pet shop window was my jail. The sign behind me said, 'For Sale'.._."

Spinelli's eyes move between a sleepy Sadie and Jason as he quickly progresses through the pages of Dr. Seuss text, and by the time the elder reaches the last lines of the book, big blue eyes are no longer peering up at them. "I like that one." Spinelli comments, as Jason returns the book to its place on the bookshelf.

They curl up together on the floor, arms tangled around each other and Spinelli's head resting on Jason's chest. "Me, too." Jason drops yet another soft brush of lips on lips, and Spinelli grins up at him.

Sleep comes pretty easily after that.


	8. Part 4: I June 14, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy! _

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**-PART 4: Chapter 1/3-**

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**_June 14, 2012_**

Three days pass before it happens. Jason and Spinelli have scarcely left the penthouse, but that hardly means they've been out of contact. Calls to Diane, calls from Mac, calls from Cody and various other associates about the other players in Sadie's kidnapping, calls from Diana, even. She still hasn't budged on the custody issue, but Spinelli is working on her. The one person Jason has not managed to contact is Agent Raynor.

But clearly that had only been because Raynor had been waiting to contact them.

The knock on the door comes at eight a.m. sharp. Like some sick and twisted wakeup call that drags a very sleepy Jason and Spinelli from their bed in pajama pants and t-shirts. "Morgan. Open this door right now!" Comes the booming voice, and Jason does as told.

Agent Raynor stands in front of them looking furious and about to explode.

"Nice of you to take the time to make a house call. Why can't you answer your phone instead?" Jason snaps, having called the man no less than a dozen times since they'd gotten Sadie back.

"I am aware that you two are inquiring into who was involved in the funding of the rather interesting kidnapping situation earlier this week." Raynor says with gritted teeth. "What I want to know is whether or not you two know anything about Sonny Corinthos' sudden demise within the confines of the federal witness protection program."

Jason and Spinelli exchange equally floored looks at the news of Sonny's death.

"What?"

"Corinthos is dead. My guess is you two had something to do with it. You've ruined our case against Anthony Zacchara." Raynor reiterates, in case they didn't already realize that. It's bad enough that Raynor held Spinelli's freedom over Jason for as long as he did, but the fact that Zacchara's trial was taking years to unfold was certainly not helping matters any.

Out of habit – nothing good ever comes from Raynor being around Spinelli – Jason subtly moves to stand in front of his lover. "We haven't done anything to Sonny. I was calling to ask you about the guy who paid off Casey to kidnap Sadie, Miguel Conlon." He says. "You can check the security tapes; we haven't even left here since we got home from the hospital."

"I'm sure the tapes will prove that. But that doesn't mean you didn't call out a hit on your former boss from the comfort of your own home." Raynor counters, just as crying rings out from upstairs.

"I, ugh, the Jackal must go see to Princess Sadie." Spinelli mumbles awkwardly, pardoning himself from the conversation in favor of sprinting up the steps to Sadie's room.

Having just woken up for the morning, Spinelli is guessing the little one is wanting her bottle. "Dada!" She greets him, raising her arms as a sign she wants to be picked up.

Spinelli complies easily enough, careful of the casted weapon that her arm currently is. "Alright, Baby Sadie, we're not going to allow the wrongly informed FBI agent to affect you getting the vitamins and nutrients you deserve, are we?" He coos, bouncing the baby on his hip as he carries her downstairs. He glares at Raynor as he moves past the living room into the kitchen.

"Talk." Raynor tells Jason, eyes on the door Spinelli and Sadie disappeared though. "You know it'd be a shame if Child Protective Services got a memo about Sadie's current prospective adoptive parents. One nearly arrested and convicted for life for treason, and the other a suspect in the midst of an extremely well covered murder investigation. I'm thinking that'd go over real well, don't you agree?"

Spinelli looks pale when he reappears, Sadie and her bottle in his arms. He's clearly heard what was said. "We had nothing to do with whatever happened to Mr. Sir." Spinelli says again, just in case Jason didn't make that clear enough when he said it.

Raynor rolls his eyes. "Maybe not the two of you directly, but probably someone in your organization. I want to know who or I'll take both of you down and you'll never see that kid again."

Since Jason and Spinelli have no idea who was responsible for killing Sonny they're kind of limited on the options they have in that agreement.

"We're no longer involved in the coffee importing business." Jason tells him, pointedly avoiding Raynor's use of words that are synonymous with mob. "But we'll be sure to let you know if we hear anything." He promises because if it ends up coming down to rolling on someone in the organization or keeping Spinelli and Sadie safe and free, it's not even a contest.

"I'll be in touch." Raynor says, with a final air of threatening authority that shouldn't work as well as it does. He slams the door as he lets himself out and Jason leads a frozen Spinelli back up to their room and sits him on the bed while he goes about digging his cell phone out of the pocket of his discarded jeans.

"What now?" Spinelli asks, still feeding Sadie.

Jason settles a hand on the younger man's back. "We figure out who killed Sonny."

"Only cowards threaten children." Spinelli comments. And it's true. People only go after kids when they know adults won't get them what they want. And this is even worse because Raynor is threatening all three of them.

Jason's already on the phone, though. With Cody, Spinelli figures.

"Hey, I need you to look into anyone who'd be after Sonny and looking to pin a hit on me." Jason explains quickly. "The FBI just left here. Sonny's dead. They think I called it."

"_I'll start digging._" Cody agrees, because the list of people fitting Jason's requirements is probably as long as Cody is tall.

Jason hangs up and his next call is to Diane. She is already well aware of the reemergence of the FBI in their town, and has already been buried under a pile of warrants and subpoena's to tide her over for a while. Including several relating to Sadie.

"What can we do?" Jason asks, getting quite desperate for answers at this point.

"_Nothing about this recent influx of paperwork, but getting Diana on board with you would certainly be helpful."_ She says for what is not the first time. Jason is beginning to suspect that Diana has reasons other than Casey for not signing the paperwork. He's beginning to suspect a lot of things, actually.

He tells Diane he'll work on that and then turns to Spinelli. "Can you get information on when, where and how Sonny died?" He asks. He hates asking the younger man to use his hacking skills and risk federal involvement once more, but Raynor will never tell them and that is pertinent information.

"Of course." Spinelli answers, and offers a fed and burped Sadie to Jason. Spinelli exits the room to grab his laptop from downstairs and returns a moment later with it already well through booting up. The computer finally kicks into gear and then the Jackal is loose on the unsuspecting world of cyberspace. "Raynor said something about the late Mr. Sir being found and destroyed while in WitSec, yes?"

"Witness Protection, yeah." Jason agrees, but Spinelli's fingers are already flying over the keyboard. He ducks out of the room quickly to put Sadie back in hers.

Only a few moments of intense silence from the younger man pass before he is grinning triumphantly, having effectively hacked into yet another supposedly secure government site. But then his smile falters. "Oh, Stone Cold. You have to see this. This is… most troubling."

That gets Jason's attention. He peers at the screen, and he sees a photo of Sonny. Beside name appears the alias Miguel Steven Conlon.

"'Conlon' as in the same name that paid Casey off." Jason realizes why the name sounds familiar. "So Sonny transferred the money from the offshore account into Casey's?"

"The account she transferred it to was in the name of Eric Samuels." Spinelli reminds him. "I've been doing research on him. He's been arrested since Sadie's kidnapping for purchasing a large quantity of drugs. It looks like he was just a hired gun who grabbed Sadie for the cash Casey supplied him with."

Jason fears something makes sense in all of this. "Bring up Sonny's WitSec page again, will you?" He prompts. He can't help but think that maybe Sonny and Casey were in this mess together. Because how else would Sonny even know about Sadie?

"You think of something else?" Spinelli inquires, but does as requested.

Jason assesses the information quickly, but then something else catches his eye. "Look where he was relocated to."

Miguel Conlon's current address reads, rather distressingly, Oakfield, Tennessee.

"How could that have happened? Surely the Federal Ones did research on the Ace of Cyberspace in their previous attempts to make an arrest." Spinelli wonders. "There's no way they'd relocate Sonny anywhere that has ties to any of us."

"Maybe they didn't know. You weren't living there at the time. Maybe they knew you were out of contact with your family." Jason suggests, because he is equally as confused on how the FBI could have made such a grievous mistake.

Spinelli shrugs. "Perhaps Diana or Casey knows this 'Miguel Conlon'." He grabs up Jason's cell phone and dials the familiar number.

Diana answers on the third ring with a friendly greeting. "Miguel Conlon?" She asks, a hint of surprise in her voice when Spinelli questions her. "Yeah, he lived down the street from us. Mom was… kind of dating him."

"She was what?"

"They went out for a while. I met him a few times; when he'd come over to pick Mom up for dinner or something. He seemed nice. Why?"

That information renders Spinelli one hundred percent speechless.

"Did he have something to do with Sadie's kidnapping?" Diana questions, noting her brother's shock at the news she hadn't found at all relevant. Spinelli's remains silent and she has her answer. "He did, then."

"Spinelli?" Jason asks, quite concerned at his lover's sudden silence.

Spinelli swallows, and covers the mouthpiece of the phone with his hand. "Casey was dating Sonny." He says, quite solemnly. "That's is how Mr. Sir knew of Sadie and of our involvement in the situation."

Jason takes the phone. "Diana, when was the last time your mom went to see him?"

"The other night, just before she disappeared. I guess just before she went to New York to get Sadie." She tells them, and the pieces start to fall into place.

"You don't think she would…" Spinelli begins, but cuts himself off. The woman has already disowned him and had Sadie kidnapped. He's not sure how much he would put past her at this point.

Jason returns his attention to the phone. "Have you seen Sonn- Conlon since?" He corrects himself quickly, and luckily she has no idea who Sonny Corinthos is so she doesn't question the mistake.

She pauses for a moment, thinking. "No… I… I haven't. But there were all sorts of trucks and vans around his house last night. Did… did something happen?"

"The FBI is currently investigating his death." Jason tells her, not sure exactly how much he should divulge when they have Raynor breathing down their necks. "You're sure Casey saw him before she left?"

"Positive." Diana answers, thought she clearly wants to question how Jason would know such a thing without being directly involved himself.

"Okay. Can we call you back in a little while?" He asks, but she tells him no. She's going to fly up there to see Sadie now that the little one is safely away from her grandmother. "Alright then, we'll see you soon. I'll have someone pick you up from the airport." He turns to tell Spinelli of the plans.

"I figured Diana would do as much." Spinelli answers, typing away at his computer as if his life depends on it.

Jason sits down beside him again. "What are you looking for?"

Spinelli grins in victorious accomplishment when yet another government site fails under his attack. "The Jackal is looking up Mr. Sir's alleged cause of death. And it appears to be poisoning. Would Stone Cold happen to know what the leading weapon of choice for women has been throughout the span of history?"

"Poison?" He hazards a guess.

"That would be correct." He continues typing, looking for details, Jason imagines, and unsurprisingly, he finds them. "Looks like our killer used… a cyanide compound. Impressive."

Jason looks to Spinelli. "Could Casey have done this?"

"Well, she convinced Sonny to fund a rather expensive plot to kidnap Sadie. The Jackal is decidedly convinced that she could get her hands on the required chemicals and end Mr. Sir quite easily." Spinelli explains. "Whether or not Federal Agent Raynor will accept that as a possibility is another matter entirely."

"Well, we'll just have to convince him then." Jason sighs.

By the time Diana's plane lands some five hours later, Jason and Spinelli have laid out all the information they have. From wireless security footage of Casey purchasing some of the compounds needed to create the cyanide mixture that poisoned Spinelli, to scratch paper filled with possible theories. It's all starting to fit together nicely.

"We're going to have to tell her." Jason sighs, as they wait for the knock on the door signaling Diana's arrival. "Everything."

Spinelli nods, although reluctant. "The Jackal is well aware."

It's only a few moments later when Max knocks on the door upon his return from the airport, entering before one of the penthouse's inhabitants opens the door. "Jason," He calls, with Diana's bags in hand, and the girl trailing behind him. "Spinelli's sister is here." The duo appears around the corner, coming from the kitchen, where their myriad of evidence is so nicely spread out, Sadie cradled comfortably in Spinelli's arms.

"Diana," Spinelli greets and little Sadie hides her face away from the relatively unfamiliar person, very anxious around new people given both the natural development process of stranger anxiety as well as the trauma of her latest adventure.

Jason takes Diana's bags after a polite greeting and deposits them in the guestroom. He returns to the living room to find Spinelli trying to coax Sadie into her mother's arms, but she is having none of it. "Dada!" She cries out, and Jason knows big baby blue eyes are pleading with Spinelli.

"It's okay," Diana forlornly laments, and it's clear she's disappointed that Sadie isn't cooperating, but, "I can't say I'd blame her after what she went through."

Spinelli nods, and looks to his Stone Cold for a moment before speaking again. When he does, it's quite a stuttering attempt. "There are… some rather pertinent pieces of information that Stone Cold and I feel we need to disclose." He begins, just as he and Jason agreed, and the two of them sit down on the couch opposite Diana.

"Oh… okay." She agrees, sensing the seriousness of whatever it is her brother is so intent on telling her.

"Miguel Conlon, ugh, wasn't who you thought he was." Jason starts. "He was in Witness Protection. His real name was Michael Sonny Corinthos and he ran, well, he ran some shady dealings here in Port Charles. I worked for him and Spinelli worked for me." He goes on to explain, and she seems to catch on to the idea of what exactly it was that they did. "The FBI got seriously involved about a year ago and got Sonny out of it. They had us, too, but, we… I made a deal. So they wouldn't go after Spinelli. I gave them Sonny and they left us alone." At least until the FBI got bored again and Raynor decided to break his word. "Sonny got placed in WitSec and somehow he ended up in Oakfield."

Spinelli picks it up from there. "Mr. Sir must have ascertained your connection to Stone Cold and the Ace of Cyberspace, and discovered the role we were playing in Sadie's life. Perhaps Casey informed him of the details following the dramatic episode last month. Most distressingly, the news of Mr. Sir's untimely demise was enough to spur the Federal Ones back into action. They think Stone Cold and I were responsible for his death, but we had no part in it. We haven't left Baby Sadie's side since she was returned to us." Spinelli rambles off in Jackal-speak that Jason is glad to hear. "There is also a rather substantial amount of evidence suggesting that Casey was the one indeed responsible for that crime, as well."

Diana sits in something like shock absorbing that overwhelming about of information. Her brother and his boyfriend are in the mob, their boss was dating her mom, and some sort of revenge was the ultimate reason behind Sadie being kidnapped and injured. Not quite what she'd had in mind when she'd made the plans to fly up here. "This is a joke. You're kidding, right?"

Spinelli frowns, adjusting his grip on the still squirmy and anxious baby in his arms. "Alas, we are entirely serious."

"Wait a minute." She says, as something not unlike a startling revelation hits her. "Wait. Sonny? His name was Sonny?"

Jason and Spinelli exchange confused looks and the elder nods in reply. "Yeah, everyone here called him Sonny."

Diana is silent for a moment, thinking through a conversation she'd overheard between her mother and the dubiously named Miguel Conlon. "Mom knew who he was. She called him Sonny. I heard… he was picking her up for a date or something and she called him Sonny."

"Casey was aware that Mr. Sir's WitSec persona was a fictitious one." Spinelli extrapolates, eyes wide with the realization. "If his identity was compromised, perhaps he feared the Federal Ones would step in and relocate him in the midst of his plan. He may have threatened to expose Casey if the kidnapping plot were to be uncovered."

"You think she killed him to cover up the kidnapping?" Jason asks, following Spinelli's idea.

Diana speaks up again, before Spinelli can confirm or deny Jason's addition to his theory. "Mom was acting weird. Weirder than her normal weird, I mean. Like. Crazy weird. I'm serious, Damian. This went beyond her whole 'the mailman is stealing our cable' thing. Maybe she was acting before Sonny could. It might have just been the kidnapping, but, maybe she found out he was up to something, too?" She proposes.

Sadie starts crying then and Jason speaks up. "You mind if we move to kitchen?" He suggests, since baby food now makes up a good portion of the otherwise bottle-filled diet of baby Sadie. Upon Diana's nod of approval, Jason scoops the baby out of Spinelli's arms and off to the kitchen while the siblings trail behind, continuing their impromptu reminiscing of old times. "Mailman stealing the cable?" He inquires, once he has Sadie situated in her high chair and a container of some mashed vegetable out.

"Those were some dark times in the Spinelli household." Diana sighs and shakes her head at the memory.

"Indeed they were, but Diana has a point. If Casey were acting abnormally, then perhaps she did know something of Sonny's intentions and acted before Mr. Sir could make a move against her." Spinelli looks to Jason. "Do you think we have enough to convince Agent Raynor that we played no part in Mr. Sir's demise?"

Jason only sighs. There's no way of knowing how determined the man is this time. "We'll see."


	9. Part 4: II June 18, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) This part and the next are both kinda short, just a heads up. All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!_

* * *

**-PART 4: Chapter 2/3-**

* * *

**_June 18, 2012_**

As it turns out, Raynor has gone incommunicado again, and try as they might, Jason and Spinelli can't seem to get in contact with him over the next few days. Without being able to contact Raynor, their mission to clear their names is stalled. So, Spinelli sets it up so that it looks like they've decided to run – a move which will undoubtedly get Raynor and likely the rest of the FBI's undivided attention - and they turn their attention to the other matter at hand: securing their future with Sadie.

They've had countless conversations dance around the topic of Diana signing the necessary paperwork in the past, but with the bomb they dropped on her about their police involved history, both men are hesitant to bring up the topic with her again. Now that she knows what she knows about them, there's a chance she could outright refuse to allow Sadie anywhere near them.

What they don't know is that Diana is watching them when they put Sadie to sleep the night Raynor does make his return.

Sadie is already falling asleep on Jason's chest as the three of them talk in the living room. Despite numerous attempts to keep the sleepy baby entertained until her actual bedtime, it proves to be a losing battle.

"Looks like someone is getting pretty sleepy over there." Diana comments, even as Jason attempts to recapture Sadie's attention with her new stuffed moose.

Sadie's hands swat the toy away and then she starts getting fussy, squirming and crying since she isn't being allowed to sleep.

"Alright, alright." Jason laughs, shifting her in his arms before he stands up. She clings to his shirt and her eyes droop closed again. "Spin, you coming?"

Spinelli nods and follows after him, heading upstairs to the pink room. Diana follows quietly after them, hoping to be involved in her daughter's bedtime rituals.

"You're up." Jason reminds him, as if Spinelli would have forgotten.

Spinelli nods, and spends a brief moment trying to think of a song. It won't have to be a very long one, given Sadie's current state of near unconsciousness. But, he'll pick a normal length one, anyway, because this is as much for Jason as it is for Sadie. "_There are places I'll remember all my life, though some have changed. Some forever, not for better. Some have gone and some remain. All these places have their moments…" _Spinelli continues the Beatles song through its first verse and into its chorus, and Diana watches quietly from the doorway.

Glad she didn't impose on their apparent rituals, she listens to her brother sing and watches Jason watch Spinelli and Sadie as if they're, well, as if they're everything. Which, she supposes in her stunning moment of clarity, they are.

"_I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I'll love you more…"_ Spinelli continues, turning to grin at Jason. "_In my life, I'll love you more."_

Diana continues her stealthily carried out research from her spot by the door. She watches Jason throw an arm over her brother's shoulders, Sadie now soundly asleep, as if she hadn't been before. Jason offers a quick kiss and the two talk quietly for a moment in hushed tones that she can't quite make out.

She's just about ready to step into the room and blow her cover when there's a pounding knock at the door.

"Raynor." Jason guesses, and starts toward the door, Spinelli just behind him.

Diana ducks downstairs just in time.

Jason's close. It's Raynor. With two other Agents tagging along who seem to have the intention of arresting himself and Spinelli on the spot. Presumably they're not happy about their prime suspects pretending to flee town. The second the door is opened, the duo of Agents accompanying Raynor barge past and attempt to wrangle their proposed captives into handcuffs. "Wait." Jason demands, putting himself, as always, between the FBI and Spinelli. He holds his hands up in surrender. "Raynor. We weren't actually running. We just needed to get you here. We know who killed Sonny."

"Uh huh, I'm sure." Raynor glares, but he waves his underlings back. "That was a nice trick you pulled there. I was in the middle of figuring that out for myself. We found a syringe with Sonny's DNA and some as of yet unidentified fingerprints on it at the scene. I'm willing to bet that it's going to link back to you two." He folds his arms over his chest and watches his targets with a self-satisfied smirk. "Isn't that right?"

"Well, I suppose that could be said." Spinelli answers, because it's true. Casey is certainly linkable with them, but not quite in the way that Raynor intends.

That certainly gets Raynor's attention. "That a confession, Mr. Spinelli?" He seems more than prepared to take that statement as is and extrapolate all he wants and needs from there.

"No," Jason answers on his behalf. "It isn't. Casey Spinelli, run her prints against the ones on the syringe you found. You'll get a match."

"Casey Spinelli?" Raynor laughs. "You're kidding me, right? You don't know who did it, so you're pinning it on your boyfriend's mother?"

Jason practically growls at him. "The woman who not only kidnapped Sadie from us, but had the whole thing funded by Sonny, while dating him? Yeah, I think I'm willing to believe that." He retorts, laying out a large portion of their evidence.

That seems to throw Raynor for a loop. Clearly he'd been unaware that Casey and Sonny had been involved. "How do you know this?"

Jason motions to Diana, who has remained silent where she stands by the sofa.

"And how does she know this?" Raynor amends, recognizing the girl as Damian Spinelli's younger sister from the history they ran on him when he was under FBI investigation. "Does hacking run in the family now?"

Diana shifts nervously, unsure as to how much she is supposed to tell the Agent. She is clearly not as well versed in dealing with law enforcement as Jason and her brother seem to be. "I, ugh. No. My mom would bring him by our house sometimes. He said his name was Miguel Conlon, but Mom called him Sonny a few times." She begins, relating the information she knows – about Casey's behavior and the fact that she had gone to see him before taking off to see the kidnapping through, and by the time she finishes her explanation, Raynor looks almost something like partially convinced.

"Ugh, the Jackal must point out that there is quite a simple way in which to verify the theory that has been proposed here." Spinelli starts, before the FBI Agent can shoot them down. "Casey is currently a prisoner in PCPD custody. Simply have her fingerprints run against those discovered on the syringe. It will yield a much faster result than would be expected in a widespread database search, would it not?"

Raynor motions his two subordinates over, and whispers to them quietly for a moment before the duo takes their leave, no doubt to carry out the fingerprint comparison that Spinelli suggested. "We'll know soon enough if this isn't just some ruse you two are trying to pull."


	10. Part 4: III June 19, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) This part is really much shorter than I thought it was, just a heads up. All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy!_

* * *

**-PART 4: Chapter 3/3-**

* * *

**_June 19, 2012_**

The clock ticks past one a.m. before the results come in. Raynor hasn't moved, is still pacing around the penthouse as if he's welcome there, and like he's not driving its rightful occupants insane. He and Jason are matching wits in a rather intense glaring contest the rest of the time.

Diana has somehow managed to pass out on the couch, but Spinelli, seated beside her, can only watch the awkward exchange between his lover and the FBI Agent with a sickening weight settling in his stomach. If they're wrong about this… if they jumped to conclusions too soon without looking at all the evidence, then Raynor will think it was a calculated effort to sneak the truth past him. He'll think they really did orchestrate Sonny's death, and he'll undoubtedly take Sadie away from them.

"Stone Cold," Spinelli starts, unable to take it anymore and desperately in need of temporary refuge. His voice spurs Jason out of another round of resolute glowering. "The Jackal is going to check in on Baby Sadie." He explains, and Jason nods in response.

Spinelli is just out of hearing range when the FBI Agent's phone rings, and Raynor starts speaking in hushed tones with whoever is on the other end of the line. All in all, he comes out of it with a frown on his face. "It seems your theory was correct, Morgan." He seems less than thrilled that this is the case as he slams his phone closed. "The prints were a match to Casey Spinelli. I'll see to it that the charges are formally added in the morning."

Jason nods, as relieved as Raynor is annoyed that they were right. "I think you owe us an apology."

"I think you should consider yourselves lucky that I'm still not taking your kid away." He says, and takes his leave through the door before Jason can argue.

With an irritated sigh in the Agent's general direction, and that problem officially taken care of and out of their way, Jason's attention returns to the trio of Spinelli's currently residing with him. He tosses a blanket over the still sleeping Diana and locks the front door. He flips out the lights and heads upstairs to locate his lover and baby Sadie.

He finds Spinelli sitting on the floor in Sadie's dark room, watching her sleep peacefully with a pillow and blanket on the floor by the door – there's no doubt in Jason's mind where they'll be sleeping tonight.

"Raynor's gone." He says, as quietly as can, attempting not to wake the sleeping baby.

Spinelli stands and slides into the hallway, so that they can talk. "Did… was Casey indeed the one responsible for the slaying of Mr. Sir?" Jason nods, and Spinelli promptly tackles him with a relieved hug. "So, am I to presume that the Fearsome Federal One no longer threatens the safety of our family?" His eyes dart back into the pink room, where Sadie still sleeps.

"He still seems pretty fond of using that against us." Jason answers, eyes wandering in the same direction. "We need to convince Diana to sign the papers. That's the only thing that'll stop him from playing that card."

A voice from the direction of the steps interrupts their conversation, and both men turn to stare when Diana surprisingly declares, "I'll sign."


	11. Part 5: I October 9, 2012

LOVE FOR A CHILD

_Okay, I have been working on this fic since December and it is NOW OFFICIALLY DONE. And, I mean, really, my chapters had to be divided into chapters. This is that epic fic of epicness I've been mentioning sporadically over the months. It's set in 2011/2012, but it takes certain liberties (Maxie and Spinelli were never really together, Jason turned Sonny in during the FBI stuff in early 2009, various other little stuff, too. Any questions, just ask, kay?) This is the last part of the fic, I am both sad and delighted to say. I am considering a sequel, mostly for my own entertainment. All in all, characters you recognize are not mine, but the new characters are mine. Enjoy! Thanks for sticking around to read (and hopefully review!!!)__  
_

* * *

**-PART 5: Chapter 1/1-**

* * *

**_October 9, 2012_**

The night before the meeting that will officially make them Sadie's parents arrives after months of waiting and countless meetings between lawyers on both sides – theirs and Diana's because if they are doing this, then they are going to do it right. They've gone through home visits and narrowly passed background checks. All so that Raynor, nor anyone else, can ever claim that Sadie is not in any way theirs. Tomorrow is a big day.

Neither of them can sleep.

Even Sadie is being particularly fussy, undoubtedly picking up on the anxiousness that Jason and Spinelli seem to be giving off in waves. She cries and wails from the pink room until she spurs her almost parents out of their room and to her side.

Spinelli is more than happy to oblige the now ten month old baby, collecting Sadie and carrying her downstairs, where Jason has already headed in his sleeplessness.

"Guess we're not the only ones worried about tomorrow." Jason says from the direction of the pool table, as he lines up a shot, quite content in his usual stress-relieving activity.

"So it would seem." Spinelli agrees, sitting on the couch with Sadie safely curled up in his arms. It is then that he realizes that she also seems to be less active than she usually would be, even for this late hour – if she's awake, then she's awake; if she's asleep, then she's asleep - there's not really an in-between level of consciousness with her. "Stone Cold," He calls, wondering how yet another disconcerting fact had escaped him upstairs. "She's… quite warm."

Pool game immediately abandoned, Jason jogs up to the bathroom to find the baby thermometer, returning just a moment later to sit beside Spinelli on the couch. "100.6." Jason says, once the thermometer supplies him with the number.

Before Spinelli can comment on that alarming readout, the previous silence of the room is abruptly shattered by a very cranky, very sleepy, crying Sadie. "Should we take her to the doctor?" Spinelli prompts, knowing that doctor means hospital, because Sadie's pediatrician, is, like most sane people, asleep. The baby in question continues her siren like wailing and buries her head against Spinelli's chest in frustration.

"I'll call Robin. You get the diaper bag?" Jason compromises, and wrangles the clingy child into his own arms.

Spinelli nods his agreement with that plan of action and races upstairs, hearing mumbles of the conversation Jason is having below as he goes. Only a short moment later, he hurries back out of the room, eager to get to the hospital if that is indeed what is necessary. "Alright. If it gets any higher, we'll bring her in." Spinelli hears Jason agree as he descends the stairs, fully stocked bag slung over his arm. He sets it down and approaches his lover and their baby, waiting patiently for the phone call to end. "Thanks, I'll talk to you soon."

"Does Doctor Robin advise that we make for the hospital post haste?" The younger inquires.

Jason shakes his head, careful not to displace Sadie where she clings to his neck. "If it gets any worse, yeah. For now, we should just give her some baby Tylenol and keep an eye on her." He explains, and continues the rhythmic pacing that has lulled Sadie into a state of almost sleep.

Spinelli returns to his place on the sofa, after heading back upstairs to fetch the medication, watching the two of them intently as Jason paces around the room and bounces the grumpy child. "Do you think this will really be it, Stone Cold? That we'll… be done with all this bedlam and chaos after today?" He asks, his nerves over the seriousness of the meeting coming to the surface.

"I don't know about 'done with'. Hopefully it will be less crazy after today." Jason amends, but seems considerably less stressed out than Spinelli does – then again, how often does Jason actively betray his anxiety?

"But, what if something goes wrong?" Spinelli continues, fidgeting anxiously. He bites his lip and goes on, despites Jason's attempts to cut in. "What if Diana changes her mind? Or the Judge-"

Jason sits down beside him and leans over, cutting him off with a quick kiss. Sadie, soundly asleep now, just cuddles against them, settled comfortably against their pressed together shoulders.

"Or..." Spinelli stops his attempt at continuing his panicked ramblings at the pointed look he receives from Jason.

Another quick kiss to ensure that Spinelli won't be trying a third time to alarm himself into a full on anxiety attack, and Jason finally feels it's safe to speak. "Don't… don't do that, okay? We can't think like that. Yeah, there is a chance things could go wrong today." He can't even begin to think of life without Sadie around. He looks down at the sleeping baby and continues. "But, we have Diana on our side. We have Diane there to deal with anything the Judge or anyone else throws at us. We just have to show up, answer some questions, and show everyone how determined we are to keep her."

Spinelli leans his head against Jason's shoulder, bringing a hand up to run through Sadie's hair. They fall into a companionable silence as the sickly Sadie drifts off to sleep against them, sans occasional coughing fits that lead to walking her around for a few moments before she settles down again.

By three o'clock, Sadie's medicine has kicked in and the baby is pretty soundly asleep. Even still, Jason and Spinelli stay downstairs with her. Jason's sitting on the couch with Spinelli's head in his lap; hand running through his hair not unlike Spinelli's has been running through Sadie's. The princess in question is curled up on Spinelli's chest, snoozing.

"Spinelli?" Jason whispers, quiet enough that it won't wake up Sadie.

The hacker makes a soft 'hmm' noise as a form of acknowledgement and raises his eyes to meet Jason's in the darkness. But a moment passes without any answer from Jason and that worries Spinelli. "Stone Cold?" He whispers back, just as quietly.

"Marry me."

Spinelli's eyes visibly widen as the two simple words process in his half-asleep mind. If Sadie were not sleeping soundly on his chest, he likely would have sat bolt upright in his surprise at the unexpected proposal, but as it sits, he remains stationary, settling instead for gawking up at Jason as if he'd just suggested that there was no difference between Mac and PC operating systems.

The silence that follows – a speechless Spinelli, always a strange thing – concerns Jason enough to make him press further. "Spinelli? You okay?"

It takes a few attempts at opening and closing his mouth before Spinelli finally manages to form words again. What he manages to get out is a garbled and stuttering reply. "Pardon? I fear that I may have misheard…"

"Marry me." Jason repeats simply, grinning like a fool. "I don't mean right now, or anything… But, once we get through this, once Sadie is ours, would you want to?"

This time, he gives up on his un-moving approach. He doesn't want to wake Sadie, but... Jason is proposing to him! It's not an event that happens every day, nor one he ever actually expected to occur. He carefully shifts Sadie in his arms and manages to keep the sleeping child asleep somehow, sitting up to face Jason. "I… I… Most assuredly, Stone Cold!" Spinelli declares as loudly as he dares. "Your Jackal would be most honored to tie the proverbial knot, as it were."

Jason laughs – it wouldn't have been an affirmative without a helping of Spinelli speak. "C'mere." He smiles back, using one hand to carefully draw Spinelli closer – ever cautious of the slumbering Sadie – so that he can press his lips against his newly-proclaimed fiancé's.

It is then that Sadie's sleepiness wears off, and she comes back to consciousness with a loud wail that promptly separates Jason and Spinelli from their brief celebratory kiss.

"We should really be accustomed to that by now." Spinelli jokes, bouncing her softly as she cries into his t-shirt.

"We should." Jason echoes, and wrangles the baby into his own arms before he stands and walks her around as they've been taking turns doing all night. It only takes a few moments of pacing to knock her out again and Jason passes her back to Spinelli. Once again they settle themselves on the couch, and this time, they all manage to stay asleep.

The seven o'clock alarm blares from Spinelli's watch what seems like seconds later, causing Sadie to cry and Jason and Spinelli to blearily startle themselves awake again. "Huh, what?" Spinelli mumbles, trying to ascertain where the obnoxious sound is coming from.

Jason easily catches his wrist and presses the button that will stop the noise from further assaulting their ears. "Morning?" He grumbles, just as exhausted as Spinelli is.

"Is it?" Spinelli idly wonders, and indeed the sunlight streaming in through the balcony windows seem to corroborate the unfortunate truth his watch had previously claimed. "Certainly doesn't feel like it." He adds, through a wide yawn.

The elder is in the midst of his own yawn when Spinelli untangles himself from their spot on the couch. "You ready for this?" He asks, hoping that maybe what they talked about last night helped at least enough to get them through the next few hours without any full blown panic attacks.

Spinelli shrugs and Jason can tell he's trying to play it cool. "As ready as possible, I would suppose." He checks his watch again to figure out how long they have before they have to be on their way to the courthouse for the meeting. About an hour, it informs him. "Would Stone Cold like to take a quick shower first, whilst I feed Princess Sadie?"

"Yeah, sure." Jason answers, ruffling Sadie's hair, and offering Spinelli a short kiss as he passes them on his way to the stairs.

"Well, then, Sadie Baby, I suppose we should get you some breakfast and check your temperature, yeah?" Spinelli says, bouncing her absently on his hip as he relocates the thermometer. They're in the kitchen by the time it beeps in announcement, the readout displaying a much less worrisome 99.1 degrees. Barely a fever at all. "That's certainly an improvement."

"DaJa?" She asks, as Spinelli deposits her in her high chair.

Spinelli laughs. He and Jason are still getting used to her new name. Previously they'd both been 'Dada'. Now Spinelli is 'Dada' and Jason is 'DaJa' and they still have no idea how she came up with it, though he silently suspects a collaborated effort from Diana and Maxie – the two of them had certainly found the moniker amusing enough. He sets her up with a helping of Cheerios and a Sippy-cup of juice. "DaJa will return soon." He assures her, pouring some orange juice for himself and Jason.

It's just a few moments later when Jason appears – clad in dress pants and an as of yet unbuttoned dress shirt, and he's still towel drying his hair. "Hey, how's the fever?"

"Significantly decreased." Spinelli answers, seated beside Sadie. "We were just talking about you, DaJa."

Jason shakes his head and laughs. "I guess that one's gonna stick, huh?" He claims the only other chair, catching the baby's attention.

"DaJa!" She exclaims, offering him a Cheerio.

He accepts, popping the piece of cereal into his mouth. "Mm. Yum. Thank you." He says, and then the clock on the stove catches his attention. "You should go take your shower." He prompts Spinelli. "We've got to get out of here soon." He leans across the table to press his lips to his lovers again.

"Indeed we do. And you taste like Cheerios." Spinelli notes, having lost track of time himself. They do need to get moving. He's up and out of the room just seconds later.

Jason sits with Sadie for a few more minutes, until she's finished her cereal and juice. He listens contentedly to her never ending stream of mostly indecipherable baby talk, commenting occasionally.

"All done?" He asks, and she enthusiastically nods her head and giggles at him as she raises her arms in signal of what she wants now. "C'mon, baby girl, let's get you all dressed up." They head upstairs to the pink room and she immediately hones in on her moose sitting where it was left last night in her crib.

The phone rings while Jason's in the process of dressing Sadie for the day's events, and, as he is otherwise occupied, he doesn't bother answering it. The machine catches it after a few rings and Jason intently listens for the beep.

_"Hey Jason, Spinelli, I just wanted to wish you luck for today. Hope everything works out. I guess I'll talk to you guys later. Bye._" It's from Cody – now entirely in charge of the organization. He'll have to remember to call the new leader back later.

But, Sadie is getting impatient. Now clad in a dressier purple shirt with a butterfly nicely embroidered on it and plain black pants, he sets the baby on the floor with her toys and offers her the beloved moose. And he sits down with her until Spinelli makes his return not long after that.

Spinelli's dressed similarly to Jason, only he is the processes of securing his tie.

"You about ready?" Jason asks, gathering up Sadie and her moose and a few other small and quiet toys to stow in the already packed diaper bag that's sitting downstairs.

The younger nods, and just a scant ten minutes later, they are on their way.

***

The meeting, to be held in a small room at the courthouse, is quite the official affair. Lawyers – Diane on their side and Alexis representing Diana, a couple of close friends, their representative from Child Protective Services, Tyler Lowe, who'd helped them with the proceedings of meetings and home visits, and the honorable Judge Kimberly Roberts make up the attendance.

"Are we ready to begin?" The Judge inquires, upon entering the courtroom.

Sadie, sleeping soundly against Jason's chest, is the only one not looking nervous. Heads nod all around.

The show begins, bringing on a lot of formal legalese amongst the two lawyers and the judge about what the situation exactly is. Before too long, the questions change direction.

"Ms. Spinelli," Judge Roberts begins, looking to Diana. "The child's father is not present, I assume?" She inquires, rifling through the piles of paperwork for a brief moment. "Christian Hardison?"

Diana nods. "No. He has been informed of the situation, but he has decided that doesn't wish to be involved in Sadie's life."

The judge scribbles that down on her notepad. "And you, Ms. Spinelli?"

"I believe that my daughter will be better off with my brother and Mr. Morgan." There is not an ounce of hesitation in her voice as she speaks, smiling proudly at the two men, and at Sadie, still sleeping soundly, but now in Spinelli's arms. "They love her, they can provide for her and give her all the things she deserves to have, better than I can. I'm fully prepared to terminate my parental rights to make these proceedings go as smoothly as possible for everyone. Especially Sadie."

The judge seems to accept her answer, quietly taking in all the information provided her in the reports on the various home visits and background checks. "That is, indeed, a very honorable, and no doubt difficult decision to make, but there is still the matter of the criminal records that both Mr. Spinelli and Mr. Morgan seem to possess." She says, directing her attention now towards the couple.

They don't know what to say to that. It's not like they can deny their involvement on the wrong side of the FBI, it's all right in front of her in black and white. This is the main potential sticking point of this whole thing.

Diane takes over from there, going on about the FBI's exploitation of her clients, the only tactic she can really use. It's not going to work, they both know. Treason is on the list of potential FBI charges, no way is that magically getting ignored. Pleading with the judge that yes, they did kind of do all of that, but they're done now, they won't ever do anything illegal again because they won't ever endanger Sadie, it's not going to work. It's just not… possible.

"Judge, if I may?" An unexpected, but not unfamiliar, voice comes from the back of the small room, turning several heads.

"And you are?" Judge Roberts inquires.

The man who'd spoken moves forward, standing beside where Jason and Spinelli stand with Sadie. "Federal Agent Thomas Raynor." He answers, producing identification to prove it. "I'm here about Jason Morgan and Damian Spinelli."

Jason feels Spinelli's hand find his and squeeze, obviously even more disconcerted by Raynor's unanticipated presence. With their history, it's likely that the FBI Agent is here to arrest them for something and make them look even worse.

"Have they done something wrong?" Diane asks, on instinct.

"No." Raynor answers, surprisingly. "I'm here to speak on their behalf."

If anyone hadn't been surprised before, they definitely were now. Jason and Spinelli exchange entirely baffled looks, wondering what the guy is up to. Diane stares at him impatiently, as if waiting for the catch. "Oh?" She ends up saying, with such an inflection that suggests that she is certainly not convinced as to the purity of his motives.

"Yes. Your Honor, may I speak?"

The woman nods, watching the various reactions with piqued interest.

"The involvement of Mr. Spinelli and Mr. Morgan with the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been a mutually beneficial one, though it was not at first. In order to… persuade… them into aiding us in our investigation of Sonny Corinthos, certain aspects of their past careers," He stresses the word 'past' a little more than strictly necessary. "Were used to pressure them. Perhaps somewhat prematurely. The FBI, as it stands, has no evidence to support any of the threatened charges against the two of them, nor did they ever."

The Judge hums, surprised by the revelation. Government types are not known for their tendency to admit fault. Especially in cases where it could get them in serious trouble. "I see."

"And," Diane cuts in, picking up on the only matter at hand that remains. "With regard to the charges prior to the arrival of the FBI against Mr. Morgan: Charges were dropped or he was found innocent in a court of law by a jury of his peers. My clients' pasts' are in their past. There will be no more charges against them, I can guarantee you."

"I am inclined to believe you." Roberts agrees. "Without the potential for federal charges, and the, ugh, relatively… clean records otherwise, I can find no reason that this arrangement will not work out well for everyone. As Ms. Spinelli wishes, her parental rights will be terminated and transferred to her brother. From there, Mr. Morgan can go through the process of adopting the child as his own, as well."

And that's all Jason and Spinelli need to hear. That's it. It worked. She is theirs.

With Sadie balanced between them, the two hug, a huge sigh of relief escaping between them.

"She's ours, Stone Cold. She's really ours."


End file.
